poem

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpəʊ.ɪm/, /ˈpəʊ.əm/ (UK); /ˈpoʊ.əm/, /ˈpəʊ.ɪm/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French poème or directly borrowed from Latin poēma (“composition in verse”),^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek πόημα (póēma, “a thing made; fiction, poetic work”), an early variant of poíēma,^[2][3][4] from ποιέω (poiéō, “to make, compose”) (see poet).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A composition in verse: 1548 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1540s in Etymonline;^[2][5][3] MWU and SOED date it to the 15th century.^[6][7] It replaced earlier poesy in this sense.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

A composition in prose with the imaginative qualities of poetry is from 1581.^[5][3] Figuratively, anything of a poetic beauty, such as a building or a dish, is from 1642.^[5] Hoad relates the Greek root to Sanskrit cinóti, to assemble or heap up.^[4] The spelling pome, representing a careless pronunciation, is from 1856.^[3]

Timeline

• 1548 – a composition in verse.^[2][5]
• 1581 – a poetic composition in prose.^[5]
• 1642 – something of poetic beauty.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A piece of writing in verse, often with rhyme and metre, expressing feelings or ideas with heightened language.
2. Something felt to have the beauty of a poem.

Word family

• symphonic poem
• tone poem
• prose poem

Related words

• poet
• poetic
• poetics
• poetry
• poesy
• onomatopoeia

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press