Etymologically
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answer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈɑːn.sə/, US /ˈæn.sɚ/[1]

Etymology

The noun is inherited from Middle English answere, inherited from Old English andswaru (“a response, reply”),[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *andswarō,[4] formed from and- (“against”) and -swaru “affirmation”, from swerian (“to swear”).[2][3][4] The original sense was probably “a sworn statement rebutting a charge”.[2][4] Its cognates are Old Saxon antswōr, Old Frisian ondser and Old Norse andsvar.[3][5] The verb is from Old English andswarian, from the noun.[3][5] The prefix goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ant- (“front, forehead”), the source of anti-.[2][3] Etymonline cites Wedgwood's observation that Latin respondēre is formed the same way, from spondēre (“to engage for, pledge”), while Gothic andawaurd and German Antwort mean literally “a word in reply”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Both noun and verb are in Beowulf, about 725.[3] The OED's earliest quotation for the noun as “a reply to a question” is from before 800.[6]

Semantic evolution

The verb meant “to reply to a charge” in Old English,[6][7] and the noun “a reply to a charge, defence” is recorded from 1340.[6] The verb meanings “to correspond, conform” and “to be responsible for” are from the early 13th century, and “to suffer the consequences of” from the late 13th.[2] The noun “solution of a problem” is from about 1300 in Etymonline[2] and 1592 in the OED.[6] “To respond in action, give back in kind” is from the 1570s, and “to solve” from 1742.[2] Someone's answer to something, a local counterpart, is from 1940,[6] and to know all the answers from 1933.[6] The answering machine was so called by 1961.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – noun and verb (Beowulf).[3]
  • early 13th century – verb, to correspond; to be responsible.[2]
  • c. 1300 – noun, the solution of a problem.[2]
  • 1340 – noun, a defence against a charge.[6]
  • 1742 – verb, to solve.[2]
  • 1933 – know all the answers.[6]
  • 1940 – someone's answer to.[6]
  • 1961 – answering machine.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A spoken or written reply, as to a question.
  2. A solution to a problem.
  3. An act done in response or retaliation.
  4. (law) A defendant's defence against charges.

Verb

  1. To reply to; to respond to.
  2. To respond correctly to.
  3. To be accountable: answer for.
  4. To serve a purpose; to suffice.
  5. To correspond to; to match.

Word family

  • answerer
  • answerless
  • answerable
  • unanswered
  • answer print
  • answering machine
  • answering service
  • swear
  • anti-
  • respond

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary distinguishes answer, respond and reply, the most general verbs of response, from retort, a quick or sharp reply.[8] In west Somerset dialect answer meant “to last, endure”, and in Ireland a fish's bite was an answer.[9]

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 i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)