trek English · revision 10710

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1849|origins=af trek|origins=nl trekken}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /trek/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|af|trek|t=a journey, the drawing of a wagon]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Dutch trekken, to march, journey, originally to draw, pull,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Middle Dutch trecken, cognate with Middle Low German trecken and Old High German trechan, to pull.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In South Africa, a stage of a journey by ox wagon: 1849;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) the verb, to travel or migrate by ox wagon, 1850, in R. G. Cumming's Hunter's Life in South Africa.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An organized migration by ox wagon, especially the Great Trek of the Boers in 1835–37, is from 1890.^(OED 1989)^(AHD) Figurative and transferred uses are from 1895,^(OED 1989) and a long or hard journey in general, now in use everywhere, from 1941.^(OED 1989) The American Heritage note remarks that fans of Star Trek may be surprised that the word began with oxen.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1849 – a stage of an ox-wagon journey.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1850 – to trek (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1890 – a Boer migration.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1941 – any long journey.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long and often difficult [[journey]], especially on foot.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(South Africa)'' A journey by ox wagon, or a migration such as the Great Trek.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a long or difficult journey; to hike.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[trekker]]

+ * [[untrekked]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[trigger]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}