infield

Etymology

It is formed from English in + field.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Used before another noun, of farmland near the farmhouse (infield corn, infield land): 1606, in an act of the Scottish Parliament under James VI; the OED thinks this was probably the original use.^[2][4] The Shorter Oxford dates the noun to the late 15th century,^[5] and Dictionary.com to 1600–10.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs first to Scottish farming: the infield, the land nearest the farmstead, received all the manure and was kept under crops year after year, while the outfield was tilled only now and then.^[7][2][5] The noun is recorded from 1733 in this sense,^[2][3] and in the 19th century it was still used in Shetland, Aberdeenshire and other parts of Scotland, and in Cumberland and Cheshire.^[7] From the opposition of infield and outfield came the sporting senses: in baseball the area inside the base lines, recorded in 1866 according to Etymonline^[3] and in 1867 according to the OED,^[2] then the fielders who play there (1897);^[2] in cricket the area near the wicket and its fielders (1898);^[2][5] and in the United States the area enclosed by a racetrack (1923, in Hemingway).^[2] The adverb, in or towards the middle of a playing field, is dated to 1959 by the OED,^[2] but to the mid 19th century by the Shorter Oxford.^[5]

Timeline

• 1606 – attributive, of the farmland next to the farmhouse.^[2][4]
• 1733 – the land of a farm lying nearest the farmhouse; land kept constantly manured and cropped.^[2][3]
• 1867 – in baseball, the part of the field within the base lines, the diamond.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1866.^[3]
• 1875 – a field next to the farmhouse; a home field.^[2]
• 1897 – in baseball, the basemen and shortstop collectively.^[2]
• 1898 – in cricket, the part of the field near the wicket, and the fielders placed there.^[2]
• 1923 – in the United States, the area enclosed by a racetrack.^[2]
• 1959 – adverb, in or towards the centre of a playing field.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. In baseball and softball, the area enclosed by the bases and home plate; the diamond.^[4][8][2]
2. In baseball, the defensive players stationed in this area, the first, second and third basemen and the shortstop, considered together: The team's infield turned three double plays.^[4][8][2]
3. In cricket, the part of the field near the wicket, or the fielders placed there.^[4][8][2]
4. The area enclosed by a racetrack or running track.^[4][2]
5. The part of a farm lying nearest the farmhouse.^[4][8][2]
6. Farmland that is regularly manured and cropped year after year.^[4][8][5][7]

Adverb

1. In or towards the middle of a playing field.^[2][5]

Word family

• infielder
• infield hit

Related words

• outfield

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
8. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins