pencil English · revision 10783

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1325|origins=fro pincel|origins=la penicillus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|pincel|t=artist's paintbrush]] (modern pinceau),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-vul|*pēnicellus]], from [[la|pēnicillus|t=paintbrush]], literally “little tail”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Trench 1859) a diminutive of [[m|la|pēniculus|t=brush]], itself from [[m|la|pēnis|t=tail]] (see [[penis]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)^(Cresswell 2021) Despite appearances it is unrelated to [[pen]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An artist's fine paintbrush: about 1325 as pinsel in Barnhart, the mid-14th century in Etymonline, about 1385 in Chaucer.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Johnson still defined pencil as a small brush of hair that painters dip in their colours,^(Cresswell 2021) and Trench noted that the distinction between pencil and paintbrush is quite modern.^(Trench 1859) Sticks of pure graphite were used for marking in England from the mid-16th century,^(Etymonline) and a ''pencil case'' for them is recorded in 1552;^(Barnhart 1988) the meaning of a graphite writing implement is first recorded in 1612.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The modern clay-graphite mix was developed in the early 19th century.^(Etymonline) The verb, to draw with a brush, is from about 1532,^(Barnhart 1988) and to write with a pencil from 1760–72;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''pencil in'', to note tentatively, is a later use.^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1325 – a paintbrush.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1532 – to pencil (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1552 – pencil case.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1612 – a graphite pencil.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1760–72 – to write in pencil.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An instrument for writing or drawing, made of a thin stick of [[graphite]] or coloured material in a wooden case or a holder.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something shaped like a pencil, such as an eyebrow pencil.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(archaic)'' An artist's fine paintbrush.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To write, draw or mark with a pencil.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''pencil in'': to arrange something provisionally.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[penciler]]

+ * [[pencillike]]

+ * [[blue-pencil]]

+ * [[red-pencil]]

+ * [[eyebrow pencil]]

+ * [[pencil box]]

+ * [[styptic pencil]]

+ * [[grease pencil]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[penis]]

+ * [[penicillin]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}