approach

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /əˈprəʊtʃ/, US /əˈproʊtʃ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English approchen, aprochen,^[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman approcher, Old French aprochier “to come closer” (modern approcher),^[3][4] from Late Latin appropiāre (“to go nearer to”),^[3][4][5] from ad- “to” and Late Latin propiāre “to come nearer”, from propius (“nearer”), the comparative of prope (“near”).^[4][6][3] It replaced Old English nēahlǣcan.^[3] The noun is from the verb.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

“To go or come near” in place: about 1300,^[4][3] about 1305 in the OED.^[7]

Semantic evolution

By the late 14th century the verb also meant to come near in time, and to come near in quality or character, to resemble.^[3] To make an overture or proposal to someone is from about 1325.^[7] The noun, “the act of drawing near, arrival”, is from the mid-15th century^[3] (before 1460 in Barnhart).^[4] A way or means of reaching a place is from the 1630s,^[3] and advances made toward personal relations from 1642.^[7] The figurative sense, a way of dealing with a problem, is attested by 1905,^[3] and the final stage of an aircraft's flight before landing by 1930.^[3] In golf an approach is a shot toward the green.^[8][9]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – verb, to come near.^[4][3]
• c. 1325 – to make overtures to.^[7]
• late 14th century – to come near in time or quality.^[3]
• before 1460 – noun, a drawing near.^[4]
• 1630s – a way of access.^[3]
• 1905 – a way of dealing with a problem.^[3]
• 1930 – an aircraft's approach.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To come near or nearer in space or time.
2. To come close to in quality or amount; to approximate.
3. To speak to someone with a request or proposal.
4. To begin to deal with (a problem or task).

Noun

1. The act of coming near.
2. A method of dealing with something.
3. A way of reaching a place; an access road.
4. The final part of an aircraft's flight before landing.
5. (golf) A shot made toward the green.

Word family

• approacher
• approachless
• unapproached
• reapproach
• approachable
• unapproachable
• unapproaching

Related words

• reproach
• approximate
• propinquity
• proximity

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster