Etymologically
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measure

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈmeʒ.ə/, US /ˈmeʒ.ɚ/[1]

Etymology

The noun is inherited from Middle English mesure,[2][3] borrowed from Old French mesure (“limit, boundary; quantity, dimension; occasion, time”),[4][2] from Latin mēnsūra (“a measuring, measurement; a thing to measure by”),[4][2] from mēnsus, the past participle of mētīrī (“to measure”),[4][2][5] with the suffix -ūra.[3] The verb is from Old French mesurer, from Late Latin mēnsūrāre “to measure”.[4][2] Latin mētīrī is from Proto-Indo-European *mē- (“to measure”),[4][2][5] the source also of Greek métron “measure”, Sanskrit māti “he measures”, Lithuanian metas “year, time” and Old English mǣþ “measure”, which did not survive into Middle English.[2][3] The native verb is mete.[4] It is related to dimension, immense and meter.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Moderation, temperance”: about 1200 in Etymonline,[4] probably before 1200 in the Trinity Homilies according to Barnhart.[2]

Semantic evolution

An instrument for measuring is from about 1300,[4] and size or quantity found by measuring from the early 14th century.[4][7] “The action of measuring”, a standard measure, and an allotted amount are from the late 14th century,[4] as are “proper proportion, balance” and, in music, an air or tune.[4] A rhythmic pattern in poetry is from the mid-15th century,[4] a group of notes between two bar lines from the 1660s.[4] Treatment “meted out” is from the 1590s,[4] a plan of action to reach a goal from the 1690s,[4] and a legislative enactment from 1759.[4] The verb first meant “to moderate, restrain”, before 1300,[7][2] and “to find the extent or quantity of” from before 1340.[7] To measure up, to have the necessary abilities, is American, from 1910.[4] For good measure comes from good measure, an ample quantity in goods sold by measure, of the late 14th century.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – moderation.[4][2]
  • a. 1300 – verb, to moderate.[7]
  • a. 1340 – verb, to find the size of.[7]
  • late 14th century – a musical air; good measure.[4]
  • 1690s – a course of action.[4]
  • 1759 – a legislative act.[4]
  • 1910 – measure up.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Size, quantity or capacity found by comparison with a standard.
  2. A unit or standard of measurement, or an instrument for measuring.
  3. An extent or degree: a measure of success.
  4. An action taken to achieve a purpose: safety measures.
  5. A law or bill.
  6. In music, the notes between two bar lines; a bar.
  7. Poetic metre or rhythm.

Verb

  1. To find the size, quantity or capacity of.
  2. To mark off or deal out by measuring.
  3. To judge by comparison.
  4. To have a given measurement: measures six feet.

Word family

  • measurer
  • measurability
  • measurable
  • measurably
  • commeasure
  • countermeasure
  • made-to-measure
  • measureless
  • mete
  • meter
  • dimension
  • immense
  • commensurate
  • measurement

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press