Etymologically
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ant

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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

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)