standard

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈstæn.dəd/, US /ˈstæn.dɚd/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English standard, borrowed from Old French estandart (“military standard, banner; rallying place”) in a shortened form, also Anglo-French estandard,^[2][3][4] and in part from Medieval Latin standardum.^[2][5] According to Barnhart, Watkins and others, including Corominas and von Wartburg, it probably comes from Frankish *standhard (“stand fast, stand firm”), a compound of words related to stand and hard,^[2][3][4] because the pole bearing the flag was fixed upright in the ground or on a wagon.^[3][2] The OED and others call this a folk etymology, and connect it with Old French estendre “to stretch out”, from Latin extendere, the source of extend.^[2][5][6][7] Some senses, such as “upright pole”, were influenced by stand.^[2][5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A flag or banner raised on a pole as an army's rallying point: 1138, in the Peterborough Chronicle,^[3][2] about the Battle of the Standard between the English and the Scots,^[8] where the standard was apparently a ship's mast with flags, mounted on a wagon.^[8] The OED's first quotation is from 1154.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English standard was used of many upright things: a pole, a tall stump, a candlestick, a tower.^[2] A weight, measure or instrument for checking the accuracy of others is from the late 14th century; the OED calls the sense development “somewhat obscure”.^[2] The official weights and measures were set by royal ordinance and called the king's standard, so the royal flag may have come to stand for royal authority in such matters.^[2][8] A level of quality or achievement is from the 15th century.^[10] The adjective meant “stationary” in the early 15th century and “upright” in the 1530s,^[2] and “serving as a standard” is by the 1620s.^[2] Standard-bearer, figuratively, is from the 1560s.^[2] Standard time is from 1870^[2] and standard-bred from 1878.^[2]

Timeline

• 1138 – a battle standard.^[3]
• late 14th century – a measure for checking accuracy.^[2]
• early 15th century – adjective, stationary.^[2]
• 15th century – a level of quality.^[10]
• 1560s – a figurative standard-bearer.^[2]
• 1620s – adjective, serving as a standard.^[2]
• 1870 – standard time.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A level of quality or attainment: high standards.
2. Something used as a measure or model for comparison.
3. A flag or banner, especially one used as an emblem or rallying point.
4. An upright pole or support.
5. A song or piece of music often performed.

Adjective

1. Serving as or conforming to a standard; normal or usual.
2. Widely accepted as correct or authoritative: standard English.

Word family

• standardly
• standardless
• prestandard
• standardbred
• standardise
• stanine
• superstandard
• unstandard

Related words

• stand
• hard
• extend
• standardize
• standard-bearer

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 r s t Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press