outbreak

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈaʊt.breɪk/^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of out and break, from the verb phrase break out.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A breaking out, an eruption of feeling or activity: 1602 in the OED, about 1600 in Etymonline;^[4][2] Merriam-Webster gives 1562.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A verb outbreak, to break out or escape, existed from Old English and was still poetic in the 19th century.^[4][2] In geology, the outcrop of a rock stratum is from 1806,^[4] and a riot or public breach of the peace from 1849.^[4] It is now used mostly of the sudden start of a disease or of war or violence.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1562 – an outbreak.^[3]
• 1602 – an eruption, outburst.^[4]
• 1806 – an outcrop (geology).^[4]
• 1849 – a riot.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A sudden start or increase of something unpleasant, especially disease or violence: an outbreak of flu.
2. A sudden outburst.

Related words

• break
• outburst

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin