Etymologically
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tavern

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtævən/ (UK); /ˈtævəɹn/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English taverne,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French taverne (“shed of boards, booth; tavern, inn”),[2][3][5][4] from Latin taberna (“hut, shed; shop, inn, tavern”),[2][3][5][4] probably from *traberna, by dissimilation of the first r,[2][3][6][7] from trabs (“beam, timber”).[2][3][6] The change of b to v is regular in Old French, as in governer from Latin gubernāre.[5] It is related to tabernacle.[6][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A public house or tap-room where wine was sold (1286 in the OED; about 1290 in Barnhart; c. 1300 in Etymonline).[10][3][5]

Semantic evolution

By about 1440 a tavern was also an inn offering lodging.[3][2] Taverner, a tavern-keeper, appears as a surname from the late 12th century.[5] In the 16th century the word could mean a shop or cellar under a house (1521).[10] The verb, to frequent taverns, dates from 1580.[10] In Britain tavern is now a less common word for a pub,[11] while in the United States, eastern Canada and New Zealand it is a place licensed to sell alcoholic drink.[11] In South Africa Cape Town is called the Tavern of the Seas, from its role as a refreshment station for ships.[12]

Timeline

  • 1286 – a wine shop or tap-room.[10]
  • c. 1440 – an inn.[3]
  • 1521 – a cellar or shop under a house (obsolete).[10]
  • 1580 – verb, to frequent taverns.[10]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An establishment licensed to sell alcoholic drinks to be consumed on the premises; a bar or pub.
  2. An inn for travellers.

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  9. ^ From Abracadabra to Zeus: Word Histories and Mysteries (2004), Boston: Houghton Mifflin (American Heritage Dictionaries)
  10. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  12. ^ A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles, Dictionary Unit for South African English, https://dsae.co.za