laureate English · revision 1291

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlɒɹ.i.ət/, /ˈlɔː.ɹi.ət/ ''(UK)''; /ˈlɔ.ɹi.ət/, /ˈlɑɹ.i.ət/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la|laureatus|t=crowned with laurel]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''laurea'' “laurel crown”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) the feminine of ''laureus'' “of laurel”, from ''laurus'' “laurel”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) It is related to [[laurel]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, crowned with laurel as a mark of distinction, especially for poetry (about 1375; about 1386 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Chaucer used ''laureat poete'' of Petrarch,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and the inverted form ''poet laureate'', after Latin word order, is recorded from about 1400–29.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The first official English poet laureate was probably Ben Jonson (1638), though Dryden (1668) is the first so recorded.^(Etymonline) The noun is from about 1529,^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) and in 1947 it was extended to Nobel prize winners.^(Etymonline) The verb, to crown with laurel, is from about 1386.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1375 – adjective, crowned with laurel.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * about 1386 – verb, to crown with laurel.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1429 – ''poet laureate''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * about 1529 – noun.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1668 – Dryden, the first recorded official laureate.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1947 – a Nobel prize winner.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person honoured or awarded a prize for great achievement, especially in the arts or sciences, as a ''Nobel laureate''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[poet laureate]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Worthy of the highest honour or distinction.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+ # Crowned or decked with [[laurel]] as a mark of honour.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Made of laurel sprigs, as a wreath.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To crown with laurel; to honour, or to appoint as poet laureate.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[laureateship]]

+ * [[laureation]]

+ * [[poet laureate]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lauraceous]]

+ * [[laurel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}