shout

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃaʊt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English shouten, schowten, a word of unknown or uncertain origin.^[2][3] The OED thinks a derivation from the root of shoot probable, on the idea of throwing the voice out loudly;^[3][2][4] it may also be related to Old Norse skúta, a taunt (compare scout, to mock),^[2][5][6] and both are traced to Proto-Indo-European *skeud-, to shoot, chase, throw.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To call or cry out loudly: about 1300 in Etymonline,^[2] 1375 in Barbour's Bruce in Barnhart.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The transitive sense, to utter loudly, is by the late 14th century.^[2] The noun, a loud call or cry, also sometimes clamour or uproar, is from the mid-14th century (1375 in the OED).^[2][7] Any loud noise forcing itself on the attention is from 1503.^[7] In colonial slang of 1854 a shout was a call to a waiter to refill the glasses of a company, hence one's turn to buy a round of drinks, still used in Britain, Australia and New Zealand.^[7][8] Among African Americans, a shout is a form of dancing with loud singing (1862).^[7] A shout-up, a noisy argument, is from 1965.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – to cry out.^[2]
• 1375 – a loud cry (noun).^[7]
• 1503 – any loud noise.^[7]
• 1854 – a round of drinks.^[7]
• 1862 – a ring shout.^[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To cry out loudly; to utter with a shout.

Noun

1. A loud cry, especially to express emotion or give a command.
2. (informal, Britain, Australia, New Zealand) One's turn to buy a round of drinks.
3. (informal) A message or greeting broadcast on the radio.

Word family

• shouter
• unshouted
• unshouting
• outshout
• ring shout
• shouting match

Related words

• shoot
• scout
• yell
• cry

Usage notes

Shout is also an old word for a flat-bottomed boat, probably from Middle Dutch schūte, still used in the Lincolnshire fens.^[9][10]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ 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)