make

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English maken, inherited from Old English macian (“to make, construct, prepare”),^[2][3][4][5] from Proto-West Germanic *makōn.^[1][2][5][6] It is cognate with Old Saxon makōn, Old Frisian makia (“to build, make”), Middle Dutch maken, Dutch maken, Old High German mahhōn (“to construct, make”) and German machen;^[2][7][8] the OED notes that it is missing from Gothic and early Scandinavian, where later forms were taken from Middle Low German.^[7] Barnhart thinks the Old English verb was probably borrowed from Old Saxon, and ultimately from Old High German, a view the OED also records.^[8][7] The verb is related to match "an equal" through a Germanic adjective meaning "fit, suitable", Proto-Germanic *makaz.^{[5][9][7][10]} Etymonline, Hoad and Ayto refer it to Proto-Indo-European *mag- (“to knead, fashion, fit”), the base from which magma comes through Greek;^[2][5][6] Etymonline suggests the sense may have developed from building houses of mud,^[2] but the OED considers the connection uncertain.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To produce a material thing by putting parts together or by shaping material, to construct: the commonest Old English use, first recorded in King Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care.^[7] Barnhart dates the Old English verb to before 901, and Middle English macen, "put together, build, form", to before 1121.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In Old English the verb was not common: the usual words for making were gewyrcan and wyrcan, ancestors of work, and dōn, which translated Latin faciō.^[6][7][2] Its use spread in Middle English,^[6] and the OED notes that its senses were shaped partly by those of Latin facere.^[7] Weekley saw it as covering the senses of facere and French faire that do did not.^[11] It was once used where specific verbs now serve, as in make Latin (c. 1500), "to write Latin compositions"; phrases such as make water (c. 1400), make friends (late 14th century), make good (early 15th century) and make a book, to arrange bets (1828), keep this broad use.^[2] The sense "to arrive at a place" (1620s) began in sailors' language,^[2] and in American use, now chiefly southern, make has meant to raise a crop since 1714.^[7] Make the grade is recorded from 1912.^[2] The noun, from the verb, meant a style of construction from before 1325 and the build of a body from about 1425;^[7] its use for the manufacturer or brand of a product dates from before 1690.^[7]

Timeline

• before 901 – to construct or produce a material thing.^[8][7]
• Old English – to prepare food.^[7]
• before 1325 – noun, a style of construction.^[7]
• c. 1400 – make water, to urinate.^[2]
• c. 1425 – noun, the build of a body.^[7]
• 1620s – to arrive at a place, at first in sailors' use.^[2]
• before 1690 – noun, the manufacturer or brand of a product.^[7]
• 1714 – in American use, to raise a crop.^[7]
• 1912 – make the grade.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To bring into being by shaping or combining materials; to construct or create: He made a bookcase from old planks.^[12][3][7]
2. To cause to exist or happen; to produce: The engine made a strange noise.^[12][3]
3. To cause to be or become: The news made her happy.^[12][3]
4. To compel or cause someone to do something: They made him apologize.^[12][3]
5. To prepare food or drink: I'll make some tea.^[12][7]
6. To earn or gain: She makes a good salary.^[12][3]
7. To amount to or add up to: Five and three make eight.^[12][3]
8. To reach or arrive at: We made the station just in time.^[12][3][2]
9. To perform or carry out: to make a promise.^[12][3]

Noun

1. The brand or type of a manufactured product: What make is your car?^[12][3][7]
2. The way something is made; its build or constitution.^[3][7]

Word family

• makable

Related words

• match
• magma

Usage notes

A separate noun make, a mate, equal or spouse, now literary or northern dialect, comes from gemaca and is related to match.^[7][3][13] Another make, a halfpenny in thieves' slang from about 1536, is of unknown origin.^[7][14][15]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ 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)
14. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
15. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com