coven English · revision 1293

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkʌv.ən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a variant of obsolete ''covent'' “assembly; religious community”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) an earlier form of [[convent]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) preserved in the name of Covent Garden.^(Barnhart 1995) This is from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventus'' “assembly”.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster instead takes it from Middle English ''covin'' “agreement, confederacy”, from Medieval Latin ''convenium''.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A meeting, gathering or assembly (1500–20).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of a gathering or band of witches is recorded from 1662,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) in the confession of Isobel Gowdie, who said there were thirteen persons in each coven.^(Etymonline) The form and the witch sense arose in Scotland and were popularized by Walter Scott's ''Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft'' (1830).^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster also gives a sense of any group with similar interests.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 13th century – ''covent'', a religious community.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1500–20 – an assembly or meeting.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1662 – a gathering of witches.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1830 – popularized by Walter Scott.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An assembly or band of [[witch|alt=witches]], traditionally thirteen.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A group of people with similar interests or activities; a [[clique]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[convent]]

+ * [[covenant]]

+ * [[convene]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}