net

English has two words spelled net: the mesh, a native word, and “remaining after deductions”, from French net “clean”.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /net/^[4]

net¹ mesh

Etymology

The mesh is inherited from Middle English nett,^[3] inherited from Old English net (“net; snare; spider's web”),^[5][1][2] from Proto-Germanic *natją,^[5][1] perhaps originally “something knotted”, from Proto-Indo-European *ned- (“to bind, tie”),^[5][1] the root of Latin nōdus (“knot”).^[1] Boutkan, quoted by Etymonline, finds no clear Indo-European etymology and suggests a substrate word.^[5] It is cognate with Dutch net, German Netz, Old Norse net and Gothic nati.^[5][1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An openwork fabric for catching fish, birds or animals: before 830 in Barnhart,^[1] about 888 in the OED,^[6] with the figurative sense, a snare or trap, from about 825.^[6]

Semantic evolution

A spider's web is from about 1000,^[6] and a light open fabric used against insects from late Old English.^[5] A mesh bag for the hair is from the late 15th century.^[5] The verb, “to catch in a net”, is from before 1425^[1] or the early 15th century;^[5] “to make into a net” is by 1789.^[5] In tennis, net as a call for a let is from 1904.^[6] Network is from 1560, a complex system from 1839 and a broadcasting system perhaps from 1914.^[1] The Net, short for the Internet, is a late 20th-century sense.^[7]

Timeline

• before 830 – a net for catching.^[1]
• c. 1000 – a spider's web.^[6]
• before 1425 – verb, to catch in a net.^[1]
• late 15th century – a hairnet.^[5]
• 1560 – network.^[1]
• 1904 – in tennis, a let.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An openwork fabric of threads or cords knotted together at intervals.
2. A device of such fabric for catching fish, birds or insects.
3. A barrier of mesh dividing a court, or forming a goal, in games such as tennis and football.
4. A snare or trap.
5. A system of connected parts; a network, and the Net, the Internet.

Verb

1. To catch in a net.
2. To cover or protect with a net.
3. To hit a ball into the net, or into the goal.

Word family

• netting
• network
• netball
• dragnet
• hairnet
• mosquito net

net² after deductions

Etymology

The commercial sense is inherited from Middle English net (“clean, pure, fine”),^[1][3] borrowed from Old French net (“clean, pure, bright”),^[5][1][2] from Latin nitidus (“gleaming”),^[1] from nitēre (“to shine”).^[5] The meaning “remaining after deductions” was probably taken from Italian netto.^[1][5] It is a doublet of neat.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Clean, trim, elegant: probably before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin,^[1] about 1300 in Etymonline.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Free from deduction, remaining after expenses, is from 1418,^[1] the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[5] The notion is “clear of anything extraneous”.^[5] Net weight is the weight of goods without their packaging.^[5][8] The verb, “to gain as clear profit”, is from 1758, in John Adams's diary,^[1][3] and the noun, a net amount, from 1910.^[1][5] “Final, ultimate”, as in the net result, is a later sense.^[8][7]

Timeline

• before 1300 – clean, trim.^[1]
• 1418 – remaining after deductions.^[1]
• 1758 – verb, to clear as profit.^[1][3]
• 1910 – noun, the net amount.^[1][5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Remaining after all deductions, as for taxes or expenses: net income.
2. Remaining after the weight of the container is deducted.
3. Final; ultimate: the net result.

Verb

1. To gain or bring in as clear profit.

Noun

1. A net amount, profit or weight.

Related words

• node
• neat

Usage notes

In Kent dialect a net was a knitted woollen scarf.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ 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)