Etymologically
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /vjuː/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English vewe, borrowed from Anglo-Norman vewe (Old French veue, modern vue),[2][3][4] the noun use of the feminine past participle of veoir (“to see”) (modern voir),[2][3][5] from Latin vidēre (“to see”).[2][3][5] Etymonline traces it to Proto-Indo-European *weid- (“to see”).[3][5] It is related to vision, video, review, interview, purview and wit.[6][7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A formal inspection or survey of land: 1415–16;[2][8] Etymonline gives “a visual perception” from the mid-14th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

The spelling view appears in 1454, and observation or notice about 1450.[2] “The act of perceiving by the mind” is from the early 15th century,[3] and a conception or opinion from the 16th century, the views one holds.[9][3] An examination by the eye is from the 1560s,[3] and by about 1600 “that which is seen”, hence a landscape or prospect.[3] The verb meant “to inspect, examine” from 1523[8][10] or the 1520s,[3] “to look at, behold” from the 1540s,[3] “to survey mentally” from the 1590s,[3] and “to regard in a certain way” from 1765.[3] “To watch television” is from 1935.[3][8] Viewfinder is attested by 1889.[3]

Timeline

  • 1415–16 – a formal survey of land.[2][8]
  • early 15th century – mental perception.[3]
  • 1454 – the spelling view.[2]
  • 1523 – verb, to inspect.[8]
  • 1540s – verb, to look at.[3]
  • 16th century – an opinion.[9]
  • c. 1600 – a landscape, prospect.[3]
  • 1765 – verb, to regard.[3]
  • 1935 – verb, to watch television.[3][8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An examination or inspection.
  2. A personal opinion or judgement.
  3. The range of sight: came into view.
  4. A scene or vista, or a picture of one.
  5. A way of seeing something, as from a particular angle.
  6. An aim or intention: with a view to.

Verb

  1. To look at; to watch.
  2. To examine or inspect.
  3. To consider; to regard in a certain way.

Word family

  • viewable
  • counterview
  • interview
  • overview
  • pay-per-view
  • preview
  • review
  • viewer
  • viewpoint
  • purview
  • vision
  • video
  • visa

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ 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 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster