ant

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ænt/, /ɑːnt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English ant, a shortening of ampte (late 14th century) and earlier amete,^[2][3] inherited from Old English ǣmete (“ant”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-West Germanic *āmaitjā,^[2][4] cognate with Old High German āmeiza (modern Ameise),^[3][2][4] a compound of a prefix meaning off, away and a root meaning to cut, so literally the biter-off.^[2][3][4][5] The other Middle English form, emete, survives as dialect emmet.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before 899, in ǣmethyl, an anthill, in Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care;^[3] the OED's first quotation is from about 1000.^[6] Middle English amete is from about 1300, ampte 1382 (the Wycliffe Bible) and ant before 1500.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The contraction is like that of aunt from Latin amita.^[2] The white ant, the termite, is from the 17th century.^[2][6] To have ants in one's pants, to be restless, is American from 1939,^[6] and antsy is probably from it, in the mid-20th century.^[7] Since the 1970s emmet has been a Cornish word for a tourist.^[7]

Timeline

• before 899 – ǣmethyl, anthill.^[3]
• c. 1300 – amete.^[3]
• 1382 – ampte.^[3]
• before 1500 – ant.^[3]
• 1939 – ants in one's pants.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small social insect of the family Formicidae, living in organized colonies of workers, males and queens.

Word family

• antlike

Related words

• emmet
• maim
• aunt
• antsy

Usage notes

In Shetland dialect a separate verb ant meant to pay attention to or obey.^[8]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ 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)