oppose

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /əˈpəʊz/, US /əˈpoʊz/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English opposen, borrowed from Old French opposer,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} formed from Latin ob- (“against, in front of”) and poser (“to place”) (see pose), with its sense blended with that of oppōnō (“to oppose, set against”) (see opponent).^[2][3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To confront with objections or hard questions: about 1380, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in Barnhart; about 1386 in the OED.^[2][7] Etymonline gives to speak or act against, accuse or question, late 14th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

To put objections is from 1390, and to audit accounts, now obsolete, from before 1483.^[7] Setting one thing against another as a counterpoise is from 1579, and placing it opposite from 1593.^[7] The sense to try to hinder or resist is first recorded in Shakespeare's 1 Henry IV, 1596.^[2][7] Opposite and opposition (in astronomy) are from the 14th century, and opposition as a political party from the 18th.^[4] Opposable is from 1667, and of the thumb from 1833.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – to confront with objections.^[2]
• 1390 – to put objections.^[7]
• 1579 – to set against as a counterpoise.^[7]
• 1596 – to resist, hinder.^[2][7]
• 1667 – opposable.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To fight against, counter or resist strongly.
2. To be against; to be hostile to.
3. To set in contrast or as a counterbalance.
4. To place opposite or facing something.
5. To act or be in opposition.

Word family

• opposer
• opposingly
• opposeless
• reoppose
• opposable

Related words

• opponent
• opposite
• opposition
• pose
• position

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press