vary

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvɛəɹi/; /ˈvæɹi/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English varien, borrowed from Old French varier (“to change, go astray”) and directly borrowed from Latin variāre (“to change, make different”),^[2][3][4] from varius (“varied, different, spotted”) (see various),^[2][3][5] of uncertain origin.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of things, to undergo change: about 1369 in the OED,^[6] about 1350 in Barnhart,^[2] the late 14th century in Etymonline, transitive and intransitive.^[3]

Semantic evolution

To differ or deviate from something is from about 1400, as is to disagree.^[6][3] In magnetism, to deviate from true north is from 1669.^[6] Varied, of different kinds, is from 1588, in Shakespeare.^[2] In music, to vary a theme is to repeat it with changes.^[7][8] A noun vary, a variation, existed from 1600.^[6][9]

Timeline

• c. 1369 – to change.^[6]
• c. 1400 – to differ; to disagree.^[6][3]
• 1588 – varied.^[2]
• 1669 – of a compass, to deviate.^[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To differ in size, amount, degree or kind from others of the same class.
2. To change or alter, especially by stages.
3. To make changes in; to give variety to.
4. To depart from a usual course; to deviate.

Word family

• varyingly
• varier
• covary
• intervary
• varying hare

Related words

• variability
• variable
• variance
• variant
• variation
• varied
• variety
• various
• variegated

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press