kindergarten English · revision 1211

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkɪndəˌɡɑːt(ə)n/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkɪndəɹˌɡɑːɹt(ə)n/, /ˈkɪndəɹˌɡɑːɹd(ə)n/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|de|Kindergarten|t=children's garden]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[af|de|Kinder|Garten|t1=children|t2=garden]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) The German word was coined in 1840 by the educator Friedrich Fröbel for his method of developing young children's minds,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) on the image of a gardener tending plants.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A school for young children taught by Fröbel's method (1852).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) Barnhart notes that a kindergarten had been set up in England in 1850 by Johannes Ronge.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word came to mean any school or class for children of about four to six,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) and in the U.S. the school year before first grade.^(Wiktionary) From 1902 it was also the nickname of a group of young imperialists recruited by Lord Milner in South Africa.^(OED 1989) Wiktionary notes that in Britain the word has largely fallen out of use outside specialist schools.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1840 – German ''Kindergarten'' coined by Fröbel.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1852 – first recorded in English.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1902 – Milner's “kindergarten”.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A school, programme or class for children of about four to six that prepares them for [[elementary school]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In the U.S., the grade before first grade.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[prekindergarten]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[kindergartner]]

+ * [[kin]]

+ * [[kind]]

+ * [[garden]]

+ * [[nursery]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}