deal

Pronunciation

• IPA: /diːl/^[1]

deal¹ share; to distribute

Etymology

The share and the verb “to distribute” are inherited from Middle English del and delen, inherited from Old English dǣl (“a part, share”) and dǣlan (“to divide, distribute”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *dailaz.^[2][5] Etymonline traces it to Proto-Indo-European *dail- (“to divide”), perhaps a northern extension of a shorter root, or a substrate word,^[2] and Barnhart suggests an early borrowing from Venetic-Illyrian; outside Germanic only Slavic has similar words.^[3] Its relatives include German Teil (“part”) and Dutch deel,^[3][2] and in English dole and ordeal.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A part, a share: Old English dǣl, before 700.^[3] The verb dǣlan, “to divide, distribute”, is from about 725.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Old English used dǣl with words such as great for an extent or amount, the sense of a great deal.^[2] The verb “to have to do with” is from about 1200, in the Ormulum,^[3] and “to deliver blows” from the 13th century.^[5] Deal with, “to handle”, is from the mid-15th century.^[2] Dealing cards is from the 1520s, and the noun for a distribution of cards from about 1600.^[2] The business sense, “a transaction, a bargain”, is from 1837, at first slang.^[3][2] Roosevelt's New Deal dates from his speech of 2 July 1932, big deal from 1928 (ironic from 1951, in The Catcher in the Rye), and deal-breaker from 1975.^[2] Dealer goes back to about 1000, in Ælfric's Glossary.^[3]

Timeline

• before 700 – Old English dǣl.^[3]
• c. 725 – verb dǣlan.^[3]
• c. 1000 – dealer (Ælfric).^[3]
• c. 1200 – to have to do with.^[3]
• mid-15th century – deal with.^[2]
• 1520s – to deal cards.^[2]
• 1837 – a business transaction.^[3]
• 1932 – the New Deal.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To give out as shares; to distribute.
2. To distribute playing cards to players.
3. To deliver: deal a blow.
4. To do business; to trade, especially in drugs.
5. (deal with) To handle, treat or be concerned with.

Noun

1. An agreement or bargain, especially in business or politics.
2. The distribution of cards, or a player's turn to deal.
3. An indefinite amount: a great deal.

deal² plank

Etymology

The plank is inherited from Middle English dele, borrowed from Middle Low German dele (“plank, floor”) or Middle Dutch dele,^[2][4][7] which came in through the Baltic timber trade,^[5] from Proto-Germanic *þeljōn.^[5][2] It is related to German Diele (“floorboard”) and Old English þille,^[7] and to English thill.^[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A plank or board, especially of fir or pine: late 14th century,^[2][5] and in surnames from the late 13th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

A board has been a deal since 1400,^[9] and since the 17th century the word has also meant the wood itself, fir or pine.^[5]

Timeline

• late 13th century – in surnames.^[2]
• late 14th century – a plank.^[2]
• 17th century – fir or pine wood.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A fir or pine board cut to a standard size; such boards collectively.
2. Fir or pine wood.

Related words

• dole
• ordeal
• thill

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 l m n o p q r 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 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)