enter

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈen.tə/, US /ˈen.t̬ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English entren,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French entrer (“to enter, go in; to begin”),^[3][2] from Latin intrāre (“to go into, enter”),^[3][2] the source also of Spanish entrar and Italian entrare,^[3] from intrā (“within”),^[3][2] related to inter (“between, among”),^[2][4] a comparative of Proto-Indo-European *en (“in”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To go into a place, to join a group: about 1275 in Barnhart^[2] and the late 13th century in Etymonline.^[3] The OED's first example is from 1297.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Latin the verb was transitive and intransitive, in French intransitive only.^[3] “To make one's entrance”, of an actor coming on stage, is from before 1300.^[5][3] “To engage in an activity” is from about 1300,^[3] and in the late 14th century it meant “to penetrate”, “to have sexual intercourse with”, “to make an entry in a record” and “to take up an office”.^[3] In law, “to take possession of land as owner” is from 1523.^[5] The OED also records a noun enter, “the act of entering”, from about 1430.^[5] In Scots and northern dialect enter meant “to begin, undertake”.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1275 – to go into.^[2]
• before 1300 – of an actor, to come on stage.^[5]
• c. 1300 – to take part in.^[3]
• late 14th century – to record; to penetrate.^[3]
• c. 1430 – noun, the act of entering.^[5]
• 1523 – to take possession of land.^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To come or go into: enter a room.
2. To become a member of or take part in; to join.
3. To put information into a list, record or computer.
4. To begin; to embark on: enter a new phase.
5. To penetrate or pierce.
6. (law) To place formally on record: enter a plea.

Word family

• enterable
• enterer
• unentered
• entrance
• reenter
• breaking and entering

Related words

• entry
• entrant
• inter
• interior
• intra-
• intrinsic

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ 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)