member

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈmem.bə/, US /ˈmem.bɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English membre, borrowed from Old French membre (“part, portion; limb; member”),^[2][3][4] from Latin membrum (“limb, member of the body, part”),^[2][3][5] from earlier *mēmsrom.^[2][6] Etymonline traces it to Proto-Indo-European *mems-ro-, from *mems- (“flesh, meat”),^[3] and Merriam-Webster gives its basic meaning as “flesh”.^[7] Its relatives include Greek μηρός (mērós, “thigh”), Sanskrit māṃsá-, “flesh”, and Gothic mimz, “flesh”.^[2][6][8][7] It is related to membrane and dismember.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A part or organ of the body, especially a limb: 1297^[9] or probably 1280.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Especially “the sex organ” from about 1300, at first of women as well as men,^[3] after Latin membrum virile.^[3][9] With reference to a metaphorical body, as in member of Christ, it is from the 14th century,^[9] and Etymonline thinks the Christian sense reinforced the meaning “person belonging to a group”,^[3] recorded from about 1330^[9] or before 1338.^[2] A constituent part of a complex structure is from about 1391,^[9] and a part of a sentence from the 16th century.^[8] One elected to a parliament is a member from the 15th century.^[8] In mathematics, an element of a set is a later sense.^[10] The colloquial verb member, “remember”, is from the late 19th century.^[4][9]

Timeline

• 1297 – a part of the body.^[9]
• c. 1300 – the sex organ.^[3]
• c. 1330 – a person belonging to a group.^[9]
• c. 1391 – a constituent part.^[9]
• 15th century – a member of parliament.^[8]
• 16th century – a part of a sentence.^[8]
• 1899 – verb, “remember”.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who belongs to a group or organization.
2. A distinct part of a whole, such as a clause of a sentence or an element of a set.
3. A part or organ of the body, especially a limb.
4. (euphemistic) The penis.
5. A structural part of a building or machine, such as a beam.

Word family

• memberless
• cardmember
• councilmember
• submember
• dismember
• membership
• charter member

Related words

• membrane

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin