supporter English · revision 10265

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1432|origins=en support}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /səˈpɔː.tə/ ''(UK)''; /səˈpɔɹ.tɚ/, /-ɾɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English, an agent noun from the verb [[support]] with the suffix [[-er]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An adherent or partisan, one who backs a person or cause: 1432–50 in the OED, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ One who keeps a person or thing from failing is from before 1475.^(OED 1989) A wire frame to hold up a large ruff is from 1592, now obsolete,^(OED 1989) and that which bears the weight of something, as in shipbuilding, is from the 1590s (1595).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A leg, now humorous, is from 1601.^(OED 1989) In heraldry a supporter is a figure or beast holding up a shield.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) The feminine supportress is by the 1620s.^(Etymonline) An athletic supporter, a jockstrap, is by 1895 in catalogue advertisements,^(Etymonline) and a follower of a game or team by 1922.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1432–50 – a partisan.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1592 – a ruff-frame.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1595 – a structural support.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1895 – an athletic supporter.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1922 – a fan of a team.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who backs a cause, [[politician]] or sports team; an adherent.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that supports, such as a structural part of a building.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A garment or device that supports a part of the body, especially an athletic supporter.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(heraldry)'' An animal or figure shown holding up a [[shield]] in a coat of arms.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nonsupporter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[support]]

+ * [[supportive]]

+ * [[advocate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}