lozenge English · revision 1152

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlɒzɪnd͡ʒ/ ''(UK)''; /ˈlɑzɪnd͡ʒ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''losonge'', ''lozenge'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|fro|losenge|t=rhombus; windowpane; small square cake]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) of disputed origin.^(Etymonline) It is probably from a pre-Roman word for “flat stone”, Iberian or Gaulish ''*lausa'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) the source of Spanish ''losa'' and Portuguese ''lousa'' “slab”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The American Heritage Dictionary calls it perhaps of Celtic origin.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A plane figure with four equal sides and two acute and two obtuse angles; a diamond shape, especially in heraldry (1320–30).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the late 14th century the word named a diamond-shaped cake or wafer,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and from 1530 a small tablet of medicine and sugar held in the mouth to dissolve,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) originally diamond-shaped.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) The related French words often meant flattery, perhaps from the fulsome epitaphs on flat tombstones;^(Etymonline) Chaucer has ''losenger'' “flatterer”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1320 – ''losonge'', a diamond shape.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1330 – ''lozenge''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * about 1430 – a diamond-shaped garnish.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530 – a medicated tablet.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1696 – a diamond-shaped shield for a woman's arms.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small, often medicated sweet that is dissolved slowly in the mouth to soothe the [[throat]]; a [[pastille]] or troche.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A four-sided figure shaped like a diamond; a [[rhombus]] that is not a square.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something of this shape, especially a [[heraldry|alt=heraldic]] charge or the shield bearing a woman's arms.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lozengy]]

+ * [[rhombus]]

+ * [[diamond]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}