Etymologically
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gypsum

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɪp.səm/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin gypsum,[2][3][4][5][6] from Ancient Greek γύψος (gýpsos, “chalk, gypsum”),[2][3][4][5][6] probably of Semitic origin;[2][4] compare Arabic jibs and Hebrew gephes “plaster”.[4] The Middle English forms were gypsus and gipsum.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Hydrated calcium sulphate, the mineral from which plaster of Paris is made (1387 in the OED, before 1384 in Barnhart).[7][3]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed the same.[7][4] The verb, to dress land with gypsum as a fertilizer, is recorded from 1819.[7] Merriam-Webster also gives the sense of drywall.[5] Random House dates the word only from 1640–50.[6]

Timeline

  • before 1384 – gypsus (Barnhart).[3]
  • 1387 – the mineral (OED).[7]
  • 1819 – verb, to dress land with gypsum.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A common soft white or colorless mineral, hydrated calcium sulfate, used to make plaster of Paris and as a fertilizer.
  2. Drywall or plasterboard.

Word family

  • gypseous
  • gypsiferous
  • gypsophila
  • gyp
  • plaster of Paris

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press