pattern

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈpæt.ən/, US /ˈpæt̬.ɚn/^[1]

Etymology

It is a variant of Middle English patroun, patron,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French patron (“patron, protector; model, pattern”),^[2][3][5] from Medieval Latin patrōnus,^[3][6] from Latin patrōnus “protector of clients, defender”,^[7] from pater “father”.^[7] The shift in sense came from the idea of a patron as a model to be imitated,^[3][7][5] and pattern was at first used of a human model.^[3] The change of form by metathesis of the second syllable occurred in the 16th century.^[4][7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An outline, plan or model: 1324 in Barnhart, as patron;^[3] a thing serving as a model for making something: 1352 in the OED.^[8] The original proposed for imitation, an archetype: about 1369.^[8]

Semantic evolution

A model of behaviour is from before 1420.^[3] A decorative design, as on china, carpets or wallpaper, is from 1582,^[3][8] the 1580s in Etymonline.^[2] An example or typical instance is from 1555,^[8] and a sample, a part showing the quality of the whole, from 1644.^[8][2] A paper pattern in dressmaking is recorded by 1792, in Jane Austen.^[2][8] Pattern and patron were not firmly distinguished in form and sense until the 1700s,^[2][3] when patron ceased to be used of things.^[7] The verb meant to design or plan in 1581, in Sidney,^[3][8] to make after a pattern from about 1600,^[2] and to cover with a design by 1857.^[2] Pattern after, to take as a model, is by 1878.^[2] The King James Bible uses pattern in the unusual sense of “copy”, at Hebrews 9:23.^[9]

Timeline

• 1324 – an outline or model.^[3]
• 1352 – a model for making things.^[8]
• a. 1420 – a model of behaviour.^[3]
• 1555 – an example.^[8]
• 1581 – verb, to design.^[3][8]
• 1582 – a decorative design.^[3][8]
• 1644 – a sample.^[8]
• 1792 – a dressmaking pattern.^[2][8]
• 1857 – verb, to cover with a design.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A repeated decorative design, as on fabric or wallpaper.
2. A plan, diagram or shape used as a guide in making things, as in dressmaking.
3. A regular or repeated way in which something happens or is done: patterns of behaviour.
4. A model or example worthy of imitation.
5. A sample or specimen.

Verb

1. To make or design following a pattern; to model.
2. To decorate with a pattern.

Word family

• patterned
• patternless
• patternable
• patterner
• patternlike
• patterny

Related words

• patron
• paternal
• pope

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Trench, Richard Chenevix (1859), A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present, London: John W. Parker