fog

Fog, long grass, and fog, thick mist, are both probably Scandinavian, but the link between them is not proven.^[1][2][3][4]

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /fɒɡ/, US /fɑːɡ/, /fɔːɡ/^[5]

fog¹ long grass

Etymology

The grass is inherited from Middle English fogge, probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian fogg (“long grass in a moist hollow”).^[3][2][6][4] Watkins, as cited by Etymonline, derives it from a root meaning to rot (see foul).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The long grass left standing in the fields in winter: the 14th century in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[7][3] Hoad notes that the Anglo-Latin fogagium, the right of pasturing on fog, implies the word about 1200.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The aftermath, the grass that springs up after the hay is cut, is also fog.^[7][8] In Scotland and northern England it meant moss (about 1450).^[7][2] Foggage, winter grass or the pasturing of cattle, is from about 1500.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – fogagium (Anglo-Latin).^[2]
• 14th century – fog, long grass.^[7]
• c. 1450 – moss (Scots).^[7]
• c. 1500 – foggage.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A second growth of grass after mowing or grazing; aftermath.
2. Tall, decaying grass left standing in winter.

Word family

• foggage

fog² mist

Etymology

The mist is perhaps a back-formation from foggy, which appeared at about the same time,^[3][9] or a Scandinavian word, compare Danish fog (“spray, shower, driving rain”) and Old Norse fjúk (“snowstorm”).^[1][3][6] Hoad calls it of unknown origin,^[2] and Barnhart finds a link with fogge, long grass, hard to make for reasons of meaning.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Thick mist near the ground: 1544.^[1][7][3]

Semantic evolution

The ODWO notes that foggy, misty, is from the late 15th century, so the mist sense may be older than its record.^[4] In a fog, at a loss, is from about 1600.^[3] The verb, to envelop in fog, is from 1599,^[1][6] and to become covered with fog by 1849.^[3] Fog lights on cars are from 1962.^[3]

Timeline

• 1544 – fog, mist; foggy.^[1]
• 1599 – to fog (verb).^[1][6]
• c. 1600 – in a fog.^[3]
• 1849 – to fog up.^[3]
• 1962 – fog lights.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Water droplets in cloud-like masses near the ground, limiting visibility.
2. A haze of dust or smoke, or a film clouding a surface such as glass.
3. A state of mental confusion or uncertainty.
4. (photography) A blurred area on a negative or print.

Verb

1. To cover with fog, or to become covered with it.
2. To make vague or confused.
3. To dim a photographic image.

Word family

• foggy
• foghorn
• fog lamp

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press