address

Pronunciation

• IPA: verb: /əˈdres/; noun: UK /əˈdres/, US /ˈæd.res/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English adressen,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French adrecier (“to go straight toward; to straighten, set right; to direct”) (modern adresser),^[4][2] from Vulgar Latin *addīrēctiāre (“to make straight”),^[4][2] the source also of Spanish aderezar and Italian addirizzare,^[4] from ad- “to” and *dīrēctiāre “to straighten”, from Latin dīrēctus (“straight”),^[2][4] the source of direct.^[2][5] The spelling with -dd- is a false re-Latinization of the prefix, attempted in France in the 15th century without success, which stuck in English.^[4][2] The noun is partly from the verb and partly from French adresse.^[3][6] Compare dress.^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

“To guide, aim, direct”: before 1325,^[2] the early 14th century;^[4] this oldest sense survives in golf, in address the ball.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From the late 14th century the verb also meant “to set in order, repair, correct”,^[4] and to straighten up or set up, to prepare, to dress, all now obsolete.^[8][7] “To write directions for delivery on (a letter)” is from the mid-15th century,^[4] and “to direct spoken words to (someone)” from the late 15th century.^[4][5] The noun, “a dutiful or courteous approach”, is from 1539^[2][3] or the 1530s;^[4] skill or readiness in dealing with things, as in with great address, is from the 1590s.^[4][8] A formal speech to an audience, as in the Gettysburg Address, is from 1751.^[4] The direction written on a letter is from 1712,^[2][4][8] which led to the meaning “place of residence” by about 1816.^[4] In computing an address is from 1948.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1325 – verb, to guide, direct.^[2]
• late 14th century – to set in order.^[4]
• mid-15th century – to direct (a letter).^[4]
• late 15th century – to speak to.^[4]
• 1539 – noun, a courteous approach.^[2]
• 1590s – skill, dexterity.^[4]
• 1712 – the direction on a letter.^[2][4]
• 1751 – a formal speech.^[4]
• c. 1816 – place of residence.^[4]
• 1948 – in computing.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The details of where a person lives or an organization is, used for sending mail.
2. A formal speech to an audience.
3. (computing) A number or string that identifies a location in memory or on a network: an email address.
4. Skill and readiness in dealing with something.
5. addresses: (archaic) Courteous attentions, especially in courtship.

Verb

1. To speak or write to someone; to make a formal speech to.
2. To write the name and address on (an envelope or parcel).
3. To deal with (a problem or issue).
4. To call by a particular name or title.
5. (golf) To take one's stance ready to hit (the ball).

Word family

• addresser
• addressograph
• multiaddress
• subaddress
• addressee
• addressable
• misaddress
• preaddress

Related words

• direct
• dress
• redress
• direction

Usage notes

In American English the noun is often stressed on the first syllable, /ˈæd.res/, while British English stresses the second.^[1][9]

References

1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster