pursuit
Pronunciation
- IPA: /pəˈsjuːt/, /pɜː-/ (UK); /pɝˈsut/ (US)[1]
Etymology
It is Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-Norman purseute (“following after”), pursuite,[2][3][4] Old French poursieute, poursuite, a search, from poursivre, porsuir, to pursue, prosecute (see pursue).[2][3][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
An action at law, a prosecution: 1349–50 in the OED, later chiefly Scottish;[6] persecution, about 1380, now obsolete.[6][2]
Semantic evolution
NODE notes that early senses included persecution and annoyance, and in law petition and prosecution.[4] A chase with hostile intent is from the late 14th century,[2] and following in order to overtake from 1412–20 (the mid-15th century in Etymonline).[6][2] A suit or request is an obsolete sense of about 1386.[6] One's occupation or recreation, what one engages in, is from the 1520s.[2] In track cycling, a race in which riders start at intervals and try to overtake each other is from 1938.[2][6][5]
Timeline
- 1349–50 – a lawsuit.[6]
- c. 1380 – persecution (obsolete).[6]
- 1412–20 – a chase.[6]
- 1520s – an occupation.[2]
- 1938 – in cycling.[6]
Modern meaning
Noun
- The act of chasing or pursuing.
- The act of striving for something: the pursuit of happiness.
- An activity, such as a hobby or occupation, followed regularly.
- (cycling) A race in which riders start apart and try to catch each other.
Word family
- pursuit plane
- hot pursuit
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press