store

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /stɔː/, US /stɔːr/^[1]

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English storen (“to supply, stock”),^[2][3] an aphetic form borrowed from Old French estorer (“to build, furnish, restore”),^[4][5] from Latin īnstaurāre (“to set up, renew, restore”), in Medieval Latin also “to provide, store”,^[3][6] from in- and -staurāre, from a base related to Greek staurós “pole, stake”,^[7][2] from Proto-Indo-European *stā- (“to stand”).^[6][3] The noun is Middle English stor, from Old French estor, from estorer.^[6][2] It is related to restore.^[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb, “to supply or stock” a town or castle: 1264.^[2][9] The noun, supplies or provisions: probably before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin,^[2] or 1297.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the verb could also mean “to build” and “to restore”.^[3] The noun meant livestock from about 1300 (now obsolete) and a sufficient or abundant supply from 1471;^[9] in store is from the same period.^[4] “To put away for future use” is from the 1550s,^[3] first in Shakespeare according to Barnhart (1600).^[2] A place where supplies were kept is from the 1660s, and a place where goods are kept for sale is from 1721, in American English;^[3][2] British English prefers shop.^[3] In computing, “to keep data in memory” is from 1909.^[9] Storage is from 1612.^[2]

Timeline

• 1264 – verb, to supply, stock.^[2][9]
• 1297 – noun, supplies.^[9]
• 1471 – an abundant supply.^[9]
• 1550s – to keep for future use.^[3]
• 1612 – storage.^[2]
• 1660s – a storehouse.^[3]
• 1721 – a shop (American English).^[2][3]
• 1909 – to store data.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A place where goods are sold; a shop.
2. A supply kept for future use; a stock.
3. (plural) Supplies, especially of food, clothing or arms.
4. A place where goods are kept; a warehouse.
5. A large quantity; an abundance: a store of knowledge.

Verb

1. To keep for future use.
2. To supply or stock.
3. (computing) To keep data in a memory or storage device.

Word family

• storable
• storer
• overstore
• restore

Related words

• storage
• storehouse
• storekeeper
• instauration
• stand

Usage notes

In American English store is the usual word for a place selling goods, where British English prefers shop, and a store was originally a larger place of deposit as well as of sale.^[3] In west Somerset store also meant a story or scandal.^[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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b 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 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ 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
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)