coverage

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkʌv.ər.ɪdʒ/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English cover + -age.^[2][3][4] A Middle English coverage, a charge for a booth at a fair (mid-15th century), fell out of use, and the word is not in the Century Dictionary (1902); it was coined again in American English in 1912.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The aggregate of risks covered by an insurance policy: 1912, American English.^[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

It was later extended to sports, the media and other fields.^[2] The area within range of a radio or television transmitter, or the share of the public it reaches, is from 1930,^[5] as is the range of functions of a service or business.^[5] The reporting of an event in the news, and the extent of it, is from 1931,^[5] as is an amount of money available to meet liabilities.^[5] The range of a camera lens is from 1936.^[5]

Timeline

• 1912 – insurance coverage.^[2][5]
• 1930 – broadcasting range.^[5]
• 1931 – news reporting.^[5]
• 1936 – the range of a lens.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The extent to which something is reported in the news or analysed: television coverage of the election.
2. Inclusion in an insurance policy, or the extent of protection it gives.
3. The area or number of people reached by a broadcasting station or advertising.
4. Funds held in reserve to meet liabilities.

Related words

• cover
• covert

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
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 f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster