Etymologically
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label

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 02:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈleɪ.bəl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English lable, borrowed from Old French label (“ribbon, fillet, fringe”),[2][3][4] probably from a Germanic word with a diminutive suffix, compare Old High German lappa “flap”,[3][5][2] and so related to lap “part of a garment”.[3][5][6] The Old French word survives as Modern French lambeau “rag, shred”.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A narrow band or strip of cloth, especially in heraldry the band with pendants marking an eldest son: about 1300 in Barnhart and Etymonline, about 1320 in the OED.[3][2][7]

Semantic evolution

A strip attached to a document to carry its seal is from before 1400 in Wycliffe.[3] A slip of paper attached to an object to name or describe it is from 1679,[7] from which came the sticker on a record (1907) and in turn a recording company (by 1947).[7][2] The verb, to put a label on, is from about 1600,[2][4] and the figurative sense “to describe or classify” from 1853.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – a strip of cloth in heraldry.[3][2]
  • a. 1400 – a seal strip on a document.[3]
  • c. 1600 – verb.[2]
  • 1679 – a slip naming an object.[7]
  • 1853 – to categorize.[2]
  • by 1947 – a recording company.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A piece of paper or other material fixed to an object to give information about it; a tag.
  2. A word or phrase used to describe a person or group, often unfairly.
  3. A brand name, especially of a recording company.

Verb

  1. To attach a label to something.
  2. To describe or classify someone, often unfairly.
  3. (chemistry) To mark a compound with a tracer.

Word family

  • labeler
  • labelable
  • mislabel
  • radiolabel
  • off-label
  • open-label
  • relabel
  • private label
  • lap

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c 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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press