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
- The details of where a person lives or an organization is, used for sending mail.
- A formal speech to an audience.
- (computing) A number or string that identifies a location in memory or on a network: an email address.
- Skill and readiness in dealing with something.
- addresses: (archaic) Courteous attentions, especially in courtship.
Verb
- To speak or write to someone; to make a formal speech to.
- To write the name and address on (an envelope or parcel).
- To deal with (a problem or issue).
- To call by a particular name or title.
- (golf) To take one's stance ready to hit (the ball).
Word family
- addresser
- addressograph
- multiaddress
- subaddress
- addressee
- addressable
- misaddress
- preaddress
Related words
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
- ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster