basket

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɑːskɪt/, /ˈbæskɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman bascat, Anglo-Latin baskettum,^[2][3][4] a word of obscure or uncertain origin.^[2][3][4] Barnhart compares Old French baschoe, a wooden or wicker container, and Gascon bascojo, all possibly from Latin bascauda, a kind of basin,^[3] which Martial said came from Britain and which may be Celtic;^[3][2] the OED doubts this connection.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the compound basketwricte, basket-maker: 1229;^[3] the vessel itself before 1300 in the OED.^[5]

Semantic evolution

A basket as the type of daily provisions or of alms is from 1535.^[5] To be left in the basket, unchosen, and to pin the basket, to conclude, are 17th-century phrases.^[5] In basketball the goal is from 1892.^[5][2] Figuratively, a group or range, as a basket of currencies in economics, is from 1916.^[5] The structure under a balloon is a later application.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1229 – basketwricte.^[3]
• before 1300 – a wicker vessel.^[5]
• 1535 – a type of provisions.^[5]
• 1892 – the basketball goal.^[5]
• 1916 – a range, category.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A container made of woven strips of cane, straw or other flexible material.
2. The amount a basket holds.
3. Something like a basket, such as the gondola of a hot-air balloon.
4. (basketball) The hoop and net forming the goal, or a goal scored.

Word family

• basketful
• basketlike

Related words

• basketball
• basketry
• basketwork

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ 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
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins