encounter

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˈkaʊntə/, /ɪŋˈkaʊntə/ (UK); /ɪnˈkaʊntɚ/, /ɪŋˈkaʊntɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English encountren, borrowed from Old French encontrer (“to meet; to confront”), with the noun from encontre (“meeting; fight”),^[2][3][4][5] the noun use of the preposition encontre, against, from Late Latin incontrā (“in front of”), from in (“in”) and contrā (“against”) (see contra and counter).^[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A meeting of adversaries, a confrontation: 1297 in the OED,^[6] about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline;^[2][3] the verb, to meet as an adversary, about 1300.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The weakened sense, to meet casually or unexpectedly, is from 1520 in Barnhart, the early 16th century in Etymonline,^[2][3] and the noun in this sense from 1656.^[6] To come up against a difficulty or problem follows.^[7][8] In psychology, encounter therapy and the encounter group are from 1967, from the work of Carl Rogers.^[3][6] A close encounter is a sighting of an alien spacecraft.^[8]

Timeline

• 1297 – a hostile meeting.^[6]
• c. 1300 – the verb, to confront.^[2][3]
• 1520 – to meet unexpectedly.^[2]
• 1967 – encounter group.^[3][6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To meet unexpectedly; to come upon.
2. To be faced with a difficulty: encounter problems.
3. To meet in battle or conflict.

Noun

1. A meeting, especially an unplanned or brief one.
2. A hostile meeting; a clash or battle.

Word family

• encounterer
• unencountered
• reencounter
• rencounter
• encounter group

Related words

• counter
• contra
• country

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins