Etymologically
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collapse

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəˈlæps/, /klæps/[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from collapsed (early 17th century), from medical Latin collapsus,[2][3][4] the past participle of collābī (“to fall together”), from com- (“together”) and lābī (“to fall, slip”) (see lapse).[5][6][7] Barnhart and MWU take it directly from the Latin participle.[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To fall together, as the sides of a hollow body: 1732.[5][8][6][7]

Semantic evolution

The adjective collapsed is from about 1600, at first of people fallen from a religious state.[6] The figurative to come to nothing, fail is from 1801.[6] The noun, a falling in, originally of the lungs, is from 1792;[6] in a mental sense, a breakdown of energy or spirits, from 1801,[8] physical prostration from 1808,[8][6] and the sudden failure of an institution or enterprise from 1856.[8][6] The transitive to cause to collapse is from 1883,[6] and collapsible from 1843.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1600 – collapsed.[6]
  • 1732 – to fall together.[5][8]
  • 1792 – the noun.[6]
  • 1801 – a mental breakdown; to fail.[8][6]
  • 1856 – the failure of an institution.[8]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To fall down or inwards suddenly.
  2. To fail or break down suddenly and completely.
  3. To fall down through illness or exhaustion.
  4. To fold into a smaller shape.

Noun

  1. A sudden falling in or down.
  2. A sudden failure or breakdown, as of a business or of health.

Word family

  • collapsibility
  • collapsible
  • uncollapsed
  • collapsar
  • precollapse
  • gravitational collapse

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ 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