survey

Pronunciation

• IPA: noun: UK /ˈsɜː.veɪ/, US /ˈsɝː.veɪ/; verb: UK /səˈveɪ/, US /sɚˈveɪ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English surveien,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman surveier, Old French sorveoir “to look down at, look upon, notice; guard, watch”,^[2][4] from Medieval Latin supervidēre (“to oversee, inspect”),^[2][5][4] from Latin super “over” and vidēre “to see”,^[2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *weid- (“to see”).^[2] The noun is from the verb.^[2][5] It is related to supervise, view and surveyor.^[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

“To consider, contemplate”: about 1400 in Etymonline;^[2] Barnhart's first sense is “to examine in detail, appraise”.^[5]

Semantic evolution

“To inspect or examine with reference to condition or value” is from the mid-15th century,^[2] 1467–8 in the OED.^[6] Measuring a tract of land is from the 1540s,^[2] 1550 in the OED and Barnhart.^[6][5] “To take a broad view of” is from the 1560s^[2] and “to look carefully into” from the 1590s.^[2] The noun first meant oversight or supervision (late 15th century),^[2][7] the act of viewing in detail from the 1540s,^[2][6] a comprehensive view from the 1560s,^[2] and the measuring of land from the 1610s.^[2][6] A poll of opinions is from 1927, and the verb in that sense by 1953.^[2] In Somerset, Devon and Cornwall a survey was an auction, especially of farms.^[8][6]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – to contemplate.^[2]
• mid-15th century – to inspect.^[2]
• late 15th century – noun, supervision.^[2]
• 1540s – to measure land; a detailed view.^[2]
• 1560s – a comprehensive view.^[2]
• 1927 – a poll.^[2]
• 1953 – verb, to poll.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To look at or examine comprehensively.
2. To inspect carefully; to scrutinize.
3. To determine the boundaries, area or elevations of land by measurement.
4. To question people in order to collect data or opinions; to poll.

Noun

1. A detailed inspection or investigation.
2. A general view or broad treatment of a subject: a survey of English literature.
3. The measuring of land, or a map or description so made.
4. A gathering of opinions or data from a sample of people.

Word family

• surveyor
• surveyable
• presurvey
• resurvey
• unsurveyed
• surveying
• aerial survey
• geodetic survey

Related words

• supervise
• view
• vision
• visit
• wit

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 u v w Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ 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)