Etymologically
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concert

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: noun UK /ˈkɒn.sət/, US /ˈkɑːn.sɚt/; verb UK /kənˈsɜːt/, US /kənˈsɝːt/[1]

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from French concert (16th century),[2][3] from Italian concerto (“concert, harmony”),[2][3][4] and the verb is from French concerter, from Italian concertare “to bring into agreement”,[2][3][4] apparently from Latin concertāre (“to contend zealously, dispute, debate”),[2][5] from com “with” and certāre “to strive”, a frequentative of certus, past participle of cernere “to separate, decide”,[2][5] from Proto-Indo-European *krei- (“to sieve”).[2] The shift from “contend” in Latin to “bring into agreement” in Italian is hard to explain, and Hoad calls the Italian verb of obscure origin.[2][4] It is a doublet of concerto.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb, to unite, bring to agreement: 1598 in the OED and Barnhart, the late 16th century in NODE.[6][3][7] The noun, agreement, accord, harmony: 1665 in Barnhart, in Evelyn's Memoirs, the 1660s in Etymonline;[3][2] Merriam-Webster gives 1571.[5]

Semantic evolution

A public musical performance appeared in English in 1689; in French it is attested from 1608, and in Italian from 1623.[3] The word was regularly confused with consort down to the Restoration and often later,[3][8] as in Cotgrave's 1611 “a consort of Musicke”.[3] In concert, in agreement, is from 1634,[6] and the Concert of Europe, the agreement among the great powers, from 1880.[6] The verb, to arrange by mutual agreement, is from 1694,[6][3] the 1690s in Etymonline,[2] hence concerted action.[9]

Timeline

  • 1598 – verb, to unite.[6][3]
  • 1634 – in concert.[6]
  • 1665 – noun, agreement.[3]
  • 1689 – a musical performance.[3]
  • 1694 – verb, to arrange by agreement.[6][3]
  • 1880 – the Concert of Europe.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A public performance of music by singers or players.
  2. Agreement in purpose, feeling or action; harmony.
  3. in concert: acting together; also, playing live in public.

Verb

  1. To plan or arrange by mutual agreement.

Word family

  • concertmistress
  • postconcert
  • preconcert
  • concertina
  • concertgoer
  • concertize
  • concertmaster
  • concert grand

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin