sponge

Pronunciation

• IPA: /spʌnd͡ʒ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sponge, inherited from Old English sponge (“sponge”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} borrowed from Latin spongia (“sponge; the sea animal from which it comes”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá), related to spóngos “sponge”.^[2][3][4] The Greek word is of unknown origin, probably a loanword from a non-Indo-European language.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The soft, light, porous framework of certain sea animals, used for wiping and cleaning (c. 1000).^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

In English the word was used of the living marine animal from the 1530s^[4][7] and of any sponge-like substance from about 1600.^[4] A person who absorbs without discrimination was a sponge by about 1600.^[4] The verb meant “to wipe with a sponge” from the late 14th century,^[7][3][4] and in the 17th century it came to mean “to live at the expense of others” (1673);^[3][4] at first the victim, who was “squeezed”, was the sponge, but by 1838 the parasite himself was called one.^[4] To throw up the sponge, “to give in” (1860), comes from prizefighting, where sponges were used to clean the boxers' faces.^[7][4]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – Old English sponge.^[7][3][4]
• 1392 – verb, to wipe with a sponge.^[7][3]
• 1538 – the marine animal.^[7]
• 1673 – verb, to live on others.^[3][4]
• 1801 – sponge-cake.^[4]
• 1838 – noun, a person who lives on others.^[4]
• 1860 – to throw up the sponge.^[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Any of numerous aquatic, chiefly marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, with a porous skeleton, which usually live fixed to an underwater surface.
2. The light, absorbent skeleton of certain of these animals, used for bathing and cleaning; also, a similar porous material of rubber, plastic or cellulose.
3. A person who lives at the expense of others; a parasite or sponger.
4. A light, porous cake or pudding.

Verb

1. To wipe, moisten or clean with a sponge; to wipe out or erase.
2. To absorb with or as if with a sponge.
3. To live by relying on the generosity of others; to get (something) free.
4. To fish for sponges.

Word family

• sponger
• spongy

Related words

• fungus

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press