Etymologically
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entire

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ɪnˈtaɪə/, US /enˈtaɪ.ɚ/, /ɪn-/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English enter, also entier, borrowed from Anglo-Norman enter, Old French entier (“whole, unbroken, complete”),[2][3][4] from Latin integrum, the neuter of integer (“whole, untouched”),[2][5][6] from in- (“not”) and the root of tangere (“to touch”).[7][8][9] It is a doublet of integer.[7] Klein explains the Old French form entier, beside the regular entir, by the substitution of the suffix -ier.[6] Barnhart also allows that it may be a back-formation from entirety.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of things, “whole, intact”: the mid-14th century,[2] before 1400 in the OED,[10] or about 1390 in Barnhart, as entere, “whole; sincere, pure”.[7] The spelling entire is from 1449.[7]

Semantic evolution

“Complete, including all its parts” is from about 1430,[10] and of a feeling or action, “thorough, unreserved”, from about 1400.[10] Of a person's reputation, “free from reproach”, it was used from 1587 to 1779.[11] Of a male animal, “not castrated”, it is from 1799,[10] and the noun entire, an uncastrated horse, follows from this.[12] In the 18th century entire was the name of a kind of malt liquor like porter, from 1742.[10] The noun “the whole” is from 1597.[8][11] A verb, “to make whole, unite”, was used in the 17th century.[10]

Timeline

  • mid-14th century – whole, intact.[2]
  • c. 1390 – entere.[7]
  • c. 1430 – complete.[10]
  • 1449 – the spelling entire.[7]
  • 1597 – the noun, the whole.[8][11]
  • 1742 – a malt liquor.[10]
  • 1799 – not castrated.[10]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Having no part left out; whole.
  2. Without reservation; complete: entire agreement.
  3. In one piece; intact.
  4. Of a male animal, not castrated.
  5. (botany) Of a leaf, having a smooth, uncut edge.

Noun

  1. The whole.
  2. An uncastrated horse; a stallion.

Word family

  • entireness
  • entirely
  • subentire
  • entirety
  • entire function
  • integrity
  • integrate
  • integer
  • tangent
  • intact

Usage notes

In north Lincolnshire and Somerset dialect entire, also written intire, meant “independent, retired, living on private means”.[13]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  12. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  13. ^ 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)