Etymologically
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cabinet

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkæb.ɪ.nət/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French cabinet (“small room”),[2][3] a diminutive of Old Picard cabine “gambling house”,[3][4] a variant of Old French cabane, the source of cabin.[2][3] It was perhaps influenced by Italian gabbinetto,[2][3] a diminutive of gabbia “cage”, from Latin cavea, the source of cage.[2] The NODE and Hoad suggest an English formation from cabin and -et after the French word,[5][6] but Barnhart limits that formation to the sense “little hut” (1572).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A secret storehouse or treasure chamber, and a case for keeping valuables: 1549 in the OED and Barnhart, the 1540s in Etymonline.[7][3][2]

Semantic evolution

A small private room is from 1565,[7][3] and a little hut or soldier's tent from 1572.[7] A room for displaying works of art and curiosities is from 1676 (the 1670s in Etymonline).[7][2] The case for papers or valuables gradually became a piece of furniture with shelves and drawers.[2][8] The private room where a monarch's advisers met (about 1600) gave the political sense, an executive council of ministers, from the 1640s,[2][8] perhaps short for cabinet council (1620s).[2]

Timeline

  • 1549 – a secret store; a case for valuables.[7][3]
  • 1565 – a private room.[7]
  • 1620s – cabinet council.[2]
  • 1640s – a council of ministers.[2]
  • 1676 – a room for displaying art.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A piece of furniture with shelves, doors or drawers for storing or displaying things.
  2. The group of senior ministers who lead a government, or advise a head of state.
  3. (archaic) A small private room.

Word family

  • cabinetful
  • cabineteer
  • cabinetmaker
  • cabinetmaking
  • cabinetry
  • cabinetwork
  • subcabinet
  • supercabinet
  • cabin
  • cage
  • cave

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  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 e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press