Etymologically
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advance

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ədˈvɑːns/, US /ədˈvæns/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English avauncen,[2][3] borrowed from Old French avancier (“to move forward, go forward, set forward”) (modern French avancer),[3][2] from Vulgar Latin *abantiāre,[2][4][5] the source also of Italian avanzare and Spanish avanzar,[3][6] from Late Latin abante (“from before, in front”),[3][2] from ab (“from”) and ante (“before”),[3][2] the latter from Proto-Indo-European *ant- (“front, forehead”).[3] The -d- was inserted in the 16th and 17th centuries, when the initial a- was mistaken for the Latin prefix ad-,[2][3][7] the same error that gave advantage.[2] The noun is from the verb and partly from French avance.[8][7] French avant “before”, as in avant-garde, is from the same Latin word.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before 1200 in the Ancrene Riwle, “to move forward”, according to Barnhart;[2] the mid-13th century in Etymonline,[3] about 1230 in the OED, “to further, promote”.[9][5]

Semantic evolution

“To promote, raise to a higher rank” is from about 1300,[3] the intransitive “to move forward” by the mid-14th century,[3] and the transitive “to move something forward” from about 1500.[3] “To give money before it is due” is from the 1670s.[3] The noun first meant boasting, about 1300, a sense now archaic,[3] and promotion in rank or wealth from the early 15th century.[3] A move forward is from the 1670s,[3] progress in a process from 1668,[9][10] money paid beforehand from the 1680s,[3] and a personal approach from the 1670s,[3] hence advances, amorous overtures, from 1706.[3] The adjective, as in advance warning, is from 1843 in Etymonline,[3] 1701 in Merriam-Webster.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1230 – to further, promote.[9]
  • c. 1300 – to raise in rank.[3]
  • mid-14th century – to move forward.[3]
  • 1668 – noun, progress.[9][10]
  • 1670s – to pay beforehand.[3]
  • 1706 – advances, overtures.[3]
  • 1843 – adjective.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To move or cause to move forward.
  2. To put forward; to propose: advance a theory.
  3. To help the progress of; to promote or raise in rank.
  4. To make progress; to improve.
  5. To cause to happen sooner.
  6. To pay money or lend it before it is due.

Noun

  1. The act of moving forward; a forward movement.
  2. Progress or improvement: advances in medicine.
  3. A rise in price or value.
  4. Approaches made to win friendship, favour or love; overtures.
  5. Money paid or lent beforehand.

Adjective

  1. Made or given ahead of time: advance notice.
  2. Going in front: an advance party.

Word family

  • advancer
  • advancingly
  • advancement
  • unadvancing
  • advance directive
  • advance guard
  • advance man
  • advance person

Usage notes

The American Heritage distinguishes the noun advance, forward movement or progress, from advancement, which is used mainly figuratively and often implies an outside agent: the advance of science is its progress, the advancement of science is progress brought about by someone.[11]

References

  1. ^ 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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin