hollow English · revision 10785

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1300|origins=ang holh}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈhɒl.əʊ/, US /ˈhɑː.loʊ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|holh|t=hollow place, hole, cave]], used as an adjective,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) obscurely related to [[m|ang|hol]] (see [[hole]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from a Germanic base [[gem-pro|*hul-]] that Etymonline traces to a root meaning to cover, conceal.^(Etymonline) The adjective use developed under the influence of the Old English adjective hol, hollow.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Having a cavity within, not solid: before 1300 as holeh, about 1330 as holwe;^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline, the 12th century in Hoad.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense, insincere or empty (''hollow promises''), is from the 1520s.^(Etymonline) The noun, a hollow place, is found in Old English (about 897) but not in Middle English, and reappears about 1550, with a valley or basin from 1553.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The middle or depth of night or winter is from 1865.^(OED 1989) The verb, to make hollow, is from before 1400.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 897 – holh, a hollow (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1300 – hollow (adjective).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1400 – to hollow (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1520s – insincere.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1553 – a valley.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having an empty space inside; not solid.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Sunken or curved inward: ''hollow cheeks''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a sound, echoing, as from an empty place.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Without real value or sincerity: ''hollow promises''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hole or empty space.^(AHD)

+ # A small [[valley]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make hollow, often with ''out''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hollowly]]

+ * [[hollowness]]

+ * [[hollowware]]

+ * [[unhollow]]

+ * [[hollow-eyed]]

+ * [[hollow back]]

+ * [[hollow leg]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hole]]

+ * [[hell]]

+ * [[hull]]

+ * [[holster]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}