Etymologically
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oppose

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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

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