Etymologically
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /sɜːtʃ/, US /sɝːtʃ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English serchen, cerchen,[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman sercher, Old French cerchier “to search” (modern French chercher),[4][5] from Late Latin circāre (“to go about, wander, traverse, explore”),[2][6] from circus (“circle”),[2][6][7] the source of circle.[2] Merriam-Webster derives circāre from Latin circum “round about”.[3] The noun is inherited from Middle English serche, from Anglo-French serche, Old French cerche, from the verb.[2][6] Its Old English counterpart seek is unrelated.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

To dig for, and to overrun or occupy by force: probably before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin and Kyng Alisaunder;[6] to go through and examine carefully: about 1300,[2] and to go about a country to find something, about 1330.[9][6]

Semantic evolution

Its two main strands, exploring a place thoroughly and trying to find something, are present from the start.[8] Examining a person, or bags, for something hidden is from the early 15th century;[2][9] looking through writings or records is from 1387.[9] The noun followed about 1400,[2][6] with the phrase in search of dating from 1455[9] and the official search of a ship's cargo from 1462.[9] Later compounds include search-warrant (1739),[2] search-party (1854)[2] and searchlight (1883).[6] Search me, a verbal shrug of ignorance, is recorded by 1901.[2][9] Search engine is attested from 1988.[2] In research the prefix re- intensifies the meaning.[8]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – to dig for; to overrun.[6]
  • c. 1330 – to go about a place to find something.[9][6]
  • 1387 – to look through records.[9]
  • c. 1400 – noun, an act of searching.[2][9]
  • early 15th century – to examine a person.[2][9]
  • 1455 – in search of.[9]
  • 1739 – search-warrant.[2]
  • 1901 – search me.[2][9]
  • 1988 – search engine.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To look through or over (a place) carefully in order to find something.
  2. To examine (a person or their belongings) for something hidden.
  3. To make a careful investigation; to seek.
  4. To look for information in a database or on the Internet.

Noun

  1. An act of searching.
  2. The legal boarding and inspection of a ship.

Word family

  • searchable
  • searcher
  • searchingly
  • searchableness
  • re-search
  • searchless
  • strip-search
  • outsearch
  • research
  • circle
  • circus
  • circuit
  • seek

Usage notes

In the woollen trade of Ireland and northern and eastern England, to search was once to examine cloth officially;[10] a separate search, “a fine sieve”, is a variant of searce.[9][10]

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 l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)