Etymologically
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This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 20:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈen.tri/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English entre,[2][3] borrowed from Old French entree (“entry, entrance”),[4][2] the noun use of the feminine past participle of entrer (“to enter”),[4][2] from Vulgar Latin *intrāta,[5][6] from intrāre (“to enter”).[5][7] It is related to enter, entrance and entree.[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of entering, a place of entrance, the right of entering: about 1300 in Etymonline,[4] before 1300 in Barnhart[2] and about 1330 in the OED.[8]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline also gives “initiation or beginning of an action” from about 1300.[4] The ceremonial entrance of a king is from 1534.[8] In law, the actual taking possession of land by entering it is from 1491,[8] and an act essential to the crime of burglary from 1769.[8] “That which is entered or set down in a book or list” is from about 1500,[4] and the item under a headword in a dictionary followed.[9][10] A competitor entered in a race or contest is a later use.[10][9] In bridge, a card that gives the lead to one's partner is from 1884,[8] and in music the start of a part in a canon from 1879.[8] In northern English and Scots dialect an entry is a narrow passage between houses.[11]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – the act of entering.[4]
  • 1491 – taking possession of land.[8]
  • c. 1500 – something set down in a record.[4]
  • 1534 – a ceremonial entrance.[8]
  • 1769 – in burglary.[8]
  • 1884 – in bridge.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of entering.
  2. The right or privilege of entering.
  3. A place or means of entering; an entrance.
  4. An item written in a record, list or diary.
  5. A headword in a dictionary, with the text that follows it.
  6. A competitor entered in a contest.

Word family

  • nonentry
  • subentry
  • entryway
  • entry-level
  • analytical entry
  • bill of entry
  • book of original entry
  • port of entry
  • enter
  • entrance
  • entree
  • intrude

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ 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)