Etymologically
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guide

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɡaɪd/[1]

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English giden,[2][3] borrowed from Old French guider (“to guide, lead”),[4][2] an alteration, influenced by Old Provençal guidar or Italian guidare, of earlier guier,[4][2][5] from Frankish *witan (“to show the way”),[4][2] from Proto-Germanic *witaną (“to look after, guard”),[4] from Proto-Indo-European *weid- (“to see, know”).[4][2] It is related to Old English wītan “to blame”, German weisen “to show” and English wit and wise.[4][5][6] The noun is from Old French guide, from Old Provençal guida.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun, one who leads or shows the way: before 1376, in Piers Plowman,[2] and 1362 in the OED.[7] The verb, to lead, direct, conduct: about 1380, in Chaucer's Boethius.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The spelling with u appeared before 1393 but was not frequent until the late 16th century.[2] A soldier or person forced to lead an invading army is from about 1540.[7] The figurative sense, someone or something that directs conduct, is from 1599.[7] The word appeared in book titles from the 1610s,[4] and a book of information for travellers from 1759.[4] Guide-post is from 1774, guidebook from 1823, in Byron,[2] the guide dog for the blind from 1932,[4] and the guided missile from 1945.[4] Guidance is from 1538.[2] In 18th-century France an idiot's guide was a guide-âne, literally “guide for donkeys”.[4]

Timeline

  • 1362 – one who leads the way.[7]
  • c. 1380 – verb, to lead.[2]
  • 1538 – guidance.[2]
  • 1599 – a model for conduct.[7]
  • 1759 – a guidebook.[4]
  • 1823 – guidebook.[2]
  • 1932 – guide dog.[4]
  • 1945 – guided missile.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who shows the way, especially one employed to lead tourists or travellers.
  2. A person or thing that directs conduct; a model.
  3. A book of information, as for travellers: a guide to Rome.
  4. A device that directs the motion of something, as a bar or track.
  5. Guide: a member of the Girl Guides.

Verb

  1. To show the way to; to lead or conduct.
  2. To direct the course of; to steer.
  3. To influence or advise.

Word family

  • guidable
  • guider
  • guideless
  • guidingly
  • guidance
  • guideboard
  • guidebook
  • guideline

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 h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press