join

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dʒɔɪn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English joinen,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French joindre (“to join, connect, unite”) (stem joign-, join-),^[4][3][5] from Latin iungere (“to join together, unite, yoke”),^[4][2][3] from a nasalized form of Proto-Indo-European *yeug- (“to join”).^[4][2] Latin iungere is related to iugum “yoke”, and so to English yoke.^[3][5] The Latin verb also gave joint, juncture and junction.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

“To unite things into a whole, put together”: about 1300,^[4] probably before 1300 in Arthour and Merlin,^[3] or 1297;^[7] it is implied earlier in the surname Joinur, “joiner”, about 1195–1215.^[3]

Semantic evolution

“To become associated, form an alliance” is from the early 14th century,^[4] and “to unite two people in marriage” from the mid-14th century.^[4] Of battle, “to begin”, it is from the late 14th century, and in Middle English join on meant “to attack”.^[4] “To unite with, form a junction with” is from 1702, and “to go to and accompany someone” from 1713.^[4] In geometry, “to connect two points with a line” is from 1660.^[7] Join up, “to enlist in the army”, is from 1916,^[4] and if you can't beat them, join them from 1953.^[4] In Middle English join was sometimes short for enjoin.^[4][7]

Timeline

• c. 1195–1215 – the surname Joinur.^[3]
• 1297 – to put together.^[7]
• early 14th century – to form an alliance.^[4]
• mid-14th century – to unite in marriage.^[4]
• 1660 – to connect two points.^[7]
• 1713 – to go and accompany someone.^[4]
• 1916 – join up, to enlist.^[4]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To bring or fasten together; to connect.
2. To come together; to meet: where the rivers join.
3. To become a member of: join a club.
4. To go to and be with someone: join us for dinner.
5. To take part in: join the fight.

Noun

1. A place where two things are joined; a joint.

Word family

• joinable
• conjoin
• interjoin
• joiner
• subjoin
• underjoin
• unjoin
• rejoin

Related words

• joint
• junction
• juncture
• conjugal
• conjunction
• adjoin
• enjoin
• rejoinder
• yoke
• yoga
• jugular

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 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
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. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University 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