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wont

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /wəʊnt/, US /wɔːnt/, /woʊnt/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English wont, wunt, earlier iwoned,[2] inherited from Old English ġewunod, contracted, the past participle of wunian, to dwell, be accustomed,[3][2][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *wunēn, to be content, rejoice,[3][4] cognate with Old Saxon wunon, Dutch wonen and German wohnen (“to dwell”).[3][2] Watkins derives it from PIE Proto-Indo-European *wen- (“to desire, strive for”), also the root of win and wean.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Accustomed, in the habit of: before 1325, in the Cursor Mundi;[2] iwoned probably about 1175.[2] Old English wunian is from before 899.[2]

Semantic evolution

The noun, habitual custom, is from the 14th century,[6][3] rare before the 16th,[4] perhaps a conflation of it is my wone (Old English ġewuna, custom) and I am wont.[4] Use and wont is an old phrase.[6] The verb, to make accustomed, is from the mid-15th century (about 1440),[3][6] and to be accustomed from before 1547 (the 1540s).[6][3] Compare wonted.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1175 – iwoned.[2]
  • before 1325 – wont.[2]
  • 14th century – the noun.[6]
  • c. 1440 – to accustom (verb).[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. (formal) Accustomed or likely: he was wont to come early.

Noun

  1. (formal) Customary practice or habit: as is his wont.

Verb

  1. (archaic) To make or become accustomed.

Word family

  • wontless

Usage notes

An unrelated Oxfordshire wont meant to yoke animals.[7]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ 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)