gondola English · revision 1341

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɡɒn.də.lə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɡɑndələ/, /ɡɑnˈdoʊlə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|vec|gondola]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) earlier borrowed into English as ''goundel'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from Old Italian ''gondula'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a word of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Barnhart suggests a diminutive of ''gonda'', a kind of boat,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) while Merriam-Webster and Random House derive it from Medieval Greek ''kontoúra'' “small vessel”,^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from a word meaning “short-tailed”.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A light flat-bottomed boat used on the canals of Venice (1549).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In American English the word was applied to large flat-bottomed river boats (1774)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) and to open railway freight cars (1871).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) It named the car beneath an airship from 1881,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) the cabin of a ski lift from 1957,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a free-standing display counter in a shop from 1942.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1549 – a Venetian canal boat.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1603 – ''gondolier''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1774 – an American river boat.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1871 – an open railway freight car.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1881 – the car of an airship.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1942 – a display counter in a shop.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1957 – the car of a ski lift.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long, narrow, flat-bottomed boat with a high, pointed bow and stern, rowed by one oar from the stern on the canals of [[Venice]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A flat-bottomed river boat.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An open railway car with low sides, for heavy bulk freight.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A cabin or basket hung below a [[balloon]] or [[airship]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An enclosed car hung from a cable, as on a [[ski lift]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A free-standing display unit in a shop.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gondolier]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}