map

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mæp/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English mapemounde (“map of the world”) in a shortened form,^[2][3] and partly borrowed from Middle French mappe, shortened from Old French mapemonde,^[2][3] from Medieval Latin mappa mundi (“map of the world”),^[2][3][4] from Latin mappa (“napkin, cloth”), on which maps were drawn,^[2][3] and mundī, genitive of mundus (“world”).^[2][4] Quintilian said mappa was of Punic origin,^[2] and Merriam-Webster relates it to a Hebrew word for a fan.^[5][3] The verb is from the noun.^[3][2] It is related to napkin and apron.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A representation of the earth's surface: 1527,^[3][6][5] the 1520s in Etymonline.^[2] Middle English mapemounde is from about 1380, in Chaucer.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century it was common figuratively for “an epitome, a detailed representation of anything”.^[2] A chart or table is from 1626,^[6] a map of the heavens a related sense,^[7] and a diagram of the distribution of anything from 1833.^[6] On the map, “prominent, important”, is from 1904.^[6] The genetic map is from 1915.^[6] The verb, “to make a map of”, is from 1586 in Barnhart,^[3] with a figurative use the same year in the OED,^[6] and map out figuratively from the 1610s.^[2] In mathematics a map is a correspondence between sets.^[7] An unrelated map meaning “rabbit” is in the OED from 1416,^[6] and in Scots map meant a portrait.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – mapemounde, in Chaucer.^[3]
• 1527 – a map.^[3][6]
• 1586 – verb.^[3]
• 1610s – map out.^[2]
• 1833 – a distribution map.^[6]
• 1904 – on the map.^[6]
• 1915 – a genetic map.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A representation, usually on a flat surface, of an area of the earth or the sky.
2. A diagram showing the arrangement or distribution of something.
3. (mathematics) A correspondence between elements of two sets; a function.
4. (genetics) A diagram of the order of genes on a chromosome.

Verb

1. To make a map of; to survey an area for a map.
2. To plan in detail, often with out.
3. To locate a gene on a chromosome.

Word family

• mappable
• mapper
• maplike
• remap

Related words

• atlas
• cartographer
• cartography
• napkin
• apron
• mundane

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 h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ 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)