study

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈstʌd.i/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English studie, borrowed from Old French estudie (“care, attention, study”) (modern French étude),^[2][3][4] a learned borrowing from Latin studium (“zeal, eagerness, application”),^[3][2][4] related to studēre (“to be eager, be diligent, study”).^[3][2][5] The verb is from estudier, from Medieval Latin studiāre.^[2][4][5] The English forms lost the initial e- of the French by aphesis.^[4][6] Barnhart suggests that studēre first meant “to strike toward”, and relates it to tundere (“to beat”) and Sanskrit tudáti, “he pounds”;^[3][5] Etymonline traces it to Proto-Indo-European *(s)teu- (“to push, knock, beat”), with the notion of pressing forward and striving.^[2] It is a doublet of étude and studio.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The pursuit of knowledge, the effort to learn: about 1300,^[3][2][7] and in the same years a room for study, about 1303 in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.^[3] Etymonline finds the verb, “to strive toward, devote oneself to”, in the early 12th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English study also meant a state of mental perplexity, from about 1290,^[7] and a state of reverie, a sense that survives only in brown study.^[7][6] Like Latin studium, it meant eagerness or zeal from the late 14th century,^[2] and an employment or pursuit in translations from Latin from about 1374.^[7] Careful scrutiny is from the mid-14th century.^[2] The verb “to think intently, meditate” is from 1340,^[7] “to apply the mind to learning” from about 1300,^[7] and “to be a student at a university” from about 1450.^[7] A branch of learning is a study from 1477.^[3][8] A piece of writing on a particular subject is from 1866,^[3] and in art a study is a preliminary sketch.^[9]

Timeline

• early 12th century – verb, to strive toward.^[2]
• c. 1290 – a state of perplexity.^[7]
• c. 1300 – the pursuit of knowledge.^[3][7]
• c. 1303 – a room for study.^[3]
• 1340 – verb, to meditate.^[7]
• c. 1450 – verb, to study at a university.^[7]
• 1477 – a branch of learning.^[3]
• 1866 – a written study of a subject.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of studying; the pursuit of knowledge.
2. Close scrutiny or examination.
3. A branch of knowledge or learning.
4. A work such as a thesis, or a piece of writing on a particular subject.
5. A preliminary sketch for a work of art.
6. (music) A piece written to give practice in a point of technique; an étude.
7. A room for reading and writing.
8. (brown study) A state of deep thought.

Verb

1. To apply the mind to learning a subject.
2. To read carefully; to learn by heart.
3. To take a course at a school or university.
4. To investigate or examine closely.
5. To ponder or reflect.

Word family

• studier
• studiable
• outstudy
• overstudy
• prestudy
• restudy
• self-study
• nonstudy

Related words

• student
• studious
• studio
• étude
• stupid

Usage notes

The English Dialect Dictionary records study for “to think, ponder, consider” in the north of England, from Durham and Yorkshire to Lancashire and Lincolnshire.^[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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
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)