laureate

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlɒɹ.i.ət/, /ˈlɔː.ɹi.ət/ (UK); /ˈlɔ.ɹi.ət/, /ˈlɑɹ.i.ət/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English,^[2][3] from Latin laureatus (“crowned with laurel”),^{[2][4][5][3][6]} from laurea “laurel crown”,^[2][4][5][3] the feminine of laureus “of laurel”, from laurus “laurel”.^[2][4][5][3] It is related to laurel.^[4][5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, crowned with laurel as a mark of distinction, especially for poetry (about 1375; about 1386 in the OED).^[4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

Chaucer used laureat poete of Petrarch,^[4][5] and the inverted form poet laureate, after Latin word order, is recorded from about 1400–29.^[4][5] The first official English poet laureate was probably Ben Jonson (1638), though Dryden (1668) is the first so recorded.^[5] The noun is from about 1529,^[4][3][5] and in 1947 it was extended to Nobel prize winners.^[5] The verb, to crown with laurel, is from about 1386.^[7][3]

Timeline

• about 1375 – adjective, crowned with laurel.^[4][5]
• about 1386 – verb, to crown with laurel.^[7]
• 1429 – poet laureate.^[4]
• about 1529 – noun.^[4][3]
• 1668 – Dryden, the first recorded official laureate.^[5]
• 1947 – a Nobel prize winner.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person honoured or awarded a prize for great achievement, especially in the arts or sciences, as a Nobel laureate.
2. A poet laureate.

Adjective

1. Worthy of the highest honour or distinction.
2. Crowned or decked with laurel as a mark of honour.
3. Made of laurel sprigs, as a wreath.

Verb

1. To crown with laurel; to honour, or to appoint as poet laureate.

Word family

• laureateship
• laureation
• poet laureate

Related words

• lauraceous
• laurel

References

1. ^ a b 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 f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press