convey

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kənˈveɪ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English conveien, borrowed from Anglo-Norman conveier (kept in Old Northern French, where Central French had convoier),^[2][3][4] from Medieval or Vulgar Latin Medieval Latin conviō (“to escort, go together on the road”),^[5][2][6][7] from com- (“with”) and via (“way, road”),^[5][2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to go, carry in a vehicle”).^[5][4] It is a doublet of convoy.^[2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

To go along with someone, to accompany or escort: before 1325 in Barnhart,^[2] before 1375 in the OED, in William of Palerne.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Ayto explains it as going with something on its way.^[6] The escorting sense died out in the 18th century,^[6][3] surviving in convoy,^[6] although Scots kept it.^[9] To carry or transport is from 1393, in Gower,^[3][2] and of immaterial things, such as meaning or information, from 1640.^[3] From the 16th century it was also a euphemism for "to steal".^[3][10] In law, to transfer the title to property led to conveyance and conveyancing.^[10][11]

Timeline

• before 1325 – to accompany.^[2]
• 1393 – to carry, transport.^[3][2]
• c. 1437 – conveyance.^[2]
• c. 1545 – to steal (euphemistic).^[3]
• 1640 – to communicate.^[3]
• 1647 – conveyor.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To carry or transport from one place to another.
2. To communicate or make known an idea, feeling or impression.
3. (law) To transfer the title to property.

Word family

• conveyable
• conveyance
• conveyer
• conveyor
• preconvey
• reconvey

Related words

• convoy
• via
• voyage
• envoy

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
10. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins