Etymologically
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highway

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhaɪ.weɪ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English heghewei, inherited from Old English hēahweġ (“main road”),[2][3] a compound of hēah “high” in the sense “main” and weg “way”,[2][3][4] the sources of high and way.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A public road open to all, a main road from one town to another: 859 in the OED.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Before the 17th century the usual word for such roads, especially the Roman roads, was high street (Old English hēahstrǣte), which later became the name of a town's main street.[2] The main route by land or water is from about 1400,[5] and a direct course of conduct to some end from 1598.[5] Take to the highway, to become a highwayman, is from 1722.[5] Highway robbery, robbery near a highway, once the only kind punishable by death under common law, is from 1707, and a joking term for an excessive price by 1886.[2] In computing a highway is a path for signals (1949).[5]

Timeline

  • 859 – a public road.[5]
  • c. 1400 – a main route.[5]
  • 1598 – a course of conduct.[5]
  • 1707 – highway robbery.[2]
  • 1886 – highway robbery, an excessive price.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A public road that everyone may use.
  2. (chiefly US) A wide main road joining towns or cities.
  3. A direct way to reach something: the highway to success.

Word family

  • superhighway
  • highwayman
  • belt highway
  • divided highway
  • highway patrol
  • highway robbery
  • King's highway

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press