Etymologically
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guess

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English gessen (“to suppose, think”), probably borrowed from a Scandinavian source,[2][3][4][5] such as Middle Danish gitse or Old Swedish gissa,[2][6][7] or from or influenced by Middle Dutch gissen and Middle Low German gissen.[3][6][8] The SOED and Hoad think it was perhaps originally a nautical word.[6][7] All of these go back to the base of Proto-Germanic *getaną (“to get”), the source of get,[3][6][2] and Barnhart reconstructs a desiderative *getiskanan.[2] Etymonline sees a development from “get” to “take aim at” to “estimate”.[3] The spelling with gu- dates from the late 16th century, and is sometimes attributed to Caxton's time as a printer in Bruges.[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To suppose, assume, think: about 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne,[2] or about 1300.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the verb meant “to infer from observation, judge, estimate”,[3] and also “to take aim”.[7][9] To form an approximate judgement of a size or amount is from 1340.[9] The noun, “a doubtful supposition”, is from about 1300,[3] or about 1330.[9] “To hit upon the right answer” is from the 1540s.[3] Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1848) noted that in America, especially New England, guess was constantly used for “believe, suppose, think”.[3][10] Guessing game is from the 1650s, keep someone guessing American English from 1896, and your guess is as good as mine from 1902.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – noun, a supposition.[3]
  • c. 1303 – verb, to suppose (Mannyng).[2]
  • 1340 – verb, to estimate.[9]
  • 1540s – verb, to guess correctly.[3]
  • late 16th century – the spelling guess.[3]
  • 1650s – guessing game.[3]
  • 1848 – American I guess noted (Bartlett).[3]
  • 1896 – keep someone guessing.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To predict or assume without enough information.
  2. To estimate or judge correctly.
  3. (chiefly US) To suppose, think.

Noun

  1. An act of guessing; a conjecture.

Word family

  • guesser
  • guessable
  • guessingly
  • guesstimate
  • guesswork
  • guestimate
  • outguess
  • second-guess

Usage notes

A separate dialect adjective guess, of a cow or ewe, “barren”, is recorded from 1736.[9]

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ Bartlett, John Russell (1848), Dictionary of Americanisms, New York: Bartlett and Welford