subway English · revision 10360

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1822}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsʌbˌweɪ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[sub-]] and [[way]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An underground passage, for water pipes, gas pipes or pedestrians: 1822 in Merriam-Webster, 1825 in Barnhart, Etymonline and the OED.^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Later the passages also carried electrical wires.^(Etymonline) An underground railway in a city is first recorded in American English in 1893,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) although Etymonline finds it by 1892 in reference to London.^(Etymonline) The verb, to travel by subway, is North American colloquial from 1929.^(OED 1989) In Britain a subway is chiefly a pedestrian tunnel under a road, and in North America an underground railway.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1822 – first known use.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1825 – an underground passage.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1893 – an underground railway.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1929 – to travel by subway.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chiefly US, Canada)'' An underground railway in a city, or its tunnel.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British)'' An underground passage for pedestrians to cross a road or railway.^(Collins 2023)

+ # An underground tunnel for pipes, cables or traffic.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[underground]]

+ * [[metro]]

+ * [[tunnel]]

+ * [[underpass]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}