Etymologically
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pattern

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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
  • 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