thesis English · revision 10303

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1398|origins=la thesis|origins=grc θέσις}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈθiːsɪs/, /ˈθɛsɪs/ ''(UK)''; /ˈθisɪs/, /ˈθisiz/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|thesis|t=unaccented syllable in poetry]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Greek [[m|grc|θέσις|tr=thésis|t=a setting down, placing; a proposition; the downbeat in music]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from the root of [[m|grc|τιθέναι|tr=tithénai|t=to place, put]] (see [[do]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from PIE *dhe-, to set, put.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In prosody, an unaccented syllable or note, a lowering of the voice: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Latin prosodic sense was later, and more correctly, the stressed part of a metrical foot;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) English use of the stressed sense is from the 19th century,^(Hoad 1986) and Etymonline suggests that this uncertainty kept the prosodic sense from becoming established.^(Etymonline) A proposition laid down to be proved or defended is first recorded in 1579,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and a dissertation written by a candidate for a university degree in 1653.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A theme for a school exercise is from before 1774.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1398 – an unaccented syllable.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1579 – a proposition.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1653 – a dissertation.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1774 – a school theme.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[dissertation]] presenting original research, especially for an academic degree.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A proposition maintained by argument.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A hypothesis, especially one put forward without proof.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' The first stage of the Hegelian dialectic.^(AHD)

+ # ''(prosody)'' The stressed part of a metrical foot in quantitative verse, or the unstressed part in accentual verse.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[antithesis]]

+ * [[hypothesis]]

+ * [[prosthesis]]

+ * [[prothesis]]

+ * [[synthesis]]

+ * [[thetic]]

+ * [[parenthesis]]

+ * [[theme]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}