Etymologically
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study

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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

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)