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binge

Etymology and origin of the English word binge

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /bɪnd͡ʒ/[1]

Etymology

It comes from the English dialect verb binge “to soak”,[2][3][4][5] used in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire of soaking a wooden vessel so that it would swell and stop leaking.[5][4] The further origin is unknown.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A heavy drinking bout (1854).[6][3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

The dialect word was extended locally from soaking a tub to soaking up alcohol, that is, drinking heavily,[4][3] perhaps reflecting the old link between drink and soak seen in an old soak.[3] From a drinking bout it came to mean any spree,[6] and around the First World War it was extended to eating as well as drinking.[4] The verb to go on a binge is dated 1910 by Merriam-Webster.[7] Binge-watching is from 1996.[4]

Timeline

  • 1854 – noun, a heavy drinking bout.[6][3][4]
  • 1854 – verb, to drink heavily.[6][4]
  • 1910 – verb, to go on a binge.[7]
  • c1914–18 – extended to eating.[4]
  • 1996 – binge-watching.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A drunken spree.
  2. A short period of excessive indulgence, as in eating, drinking or spending.
  3. A period of doing something to excess, such as watching a television series.

Verb

  1. To indulge excessively, especially in food or drink.

Word family

  • binger

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary groups binge with fling, jag, orgy and spree as words for a period of uncontrolled self-indulgence.[2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  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 c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Binge.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/binge. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·