menace

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmɛnɪs/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English manace, borrowed from Old French menace (“threat”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Vulgar Latin *minācia, the singular of Latin mināciae (“threats”),^[2][3][4][5] from mināx “threatening, jutting out”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from minārī “to threaten, to project”, from minae “threats; projecting points”.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A declaration of hostile intent, a threat (before 1300);^[7][3][4] the verb is recorded from 1303.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

The Latin words connected threatening with jutting or overhanging, as of a menacing rock.^[4][3] From the 14th century impersonal things could be said to menace (1377).^[7][4] A menace as a state of things threatening danger dates from 1857,^[7] and as a colloquial name for an annoying or troublesome person from 1936.^[7][4] The Century Dictionary noted that threaten is used of great and small things alike, while menace belongs to dignified style and serious matters.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1300 – a threat; the action of threatening.^[7][3][4]
• 1303 – verb, to threaten.^[7][3]
• 1377 – verb, of things, to pose a threat.^[7]
• 1857 – a threatening state of things.^[7]
• 1936 – an annoying or troublesome person.^[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A possible danger; a threat.
2. The act of threatening.
3. A troublesome or annoying person.

Verb

1. To threaten; to make threats against.
2. To pose a threat to; to endanger.
3. To make threats; to act in a threatening manner.

Word family

• menacer
• menacingly

Related words

• threaten
• minatory
• imminent
• eminent

References

1. ^ 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 h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ 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