opposite

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈɒp.ə.zɪt/, US /ˈɑː.pə.zɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English opposyt,^[2] borrowed from Old French opposite (“opposite, contrary”), oposite, 13th century,^[3][2] from Latin oppositus (“standing against, opposed”), the past participle of oppōnere (“to set against”),^[3][2][4] from ob “in front of, in the way of” and pōnere “to put, set, place”.^[3] It is related to oppose, opponent and position.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Placed or lying on the other side of something”: 1391, in Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe,^[2][5] the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

As a noun, the opposite side or position, it is from the late 14th century, about 1385 in Chaucer according to Barnhart,^[3][2] and “that which is contrary in character”, also an opponent, from the early 15th century.^[3] “Contrary in nature, diametrically different” is first recorded in Lyly's Euphues and his England (1580).^[2][5] “Hostile, adverse” (1577) is obsolete.^[5] The preposition, “across from”, is from 1758, in Goldsmith, probably by omission of to in opposite to,^[2][3] and the adverb from 1817, in Shelley.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1391 – on the other side.^[2][5]
• c. 1385 – noun, the opposite.^[2]
• 1580 – contrary in nature.^[2][5]
• 1758 – preposition.^[2][3]
• 1817 – adverb.^[2][3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Placed directly across from something, or facing each other: on opposite sides of the street.
2. Facing or moving the other way.
3. Altogether different in nature or meaning; contrary.
4. In botany, growing in pairs on either side of a stem.

Noun

1. A person or thing that is opposite to another.
2. An antonym.

Adverb

1. In an opposite position: she sat opposite.

Preposition

1. Across from or facing.
2. In a complementary role to, as an actor: starred opposite her.

Word family

• oppositely
• oppositeness
• subopposite
• opposite number

Related words

• oppose
• opponent
• opposition
• position
• apposite

Usage notes

The American Heritage distinguishes opposite, of two things altogether different, from contrary, antithetical and contradictory.^[6]

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 i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin