paste English · revision 14955

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1303|origins=grc πάσσω}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /peɪst/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|paste]], [[bor|fro|paste|t=dough, pastry]] (modern [[fr|pâte]]) and directly [[la-lat|pasta|t=pastry cake, paste]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[grc|παστά|tr=pastá|t=barley porridge]], from [[m|grc|πάσσω|tr=pássō|t=to sprinkle]], cognate with [[la|quatiō|t=to shake]] (see [[pasta]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Moistened flour, dough: about 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne, in Barnhart; about 1300 in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It is a surname, Paste, in 1166.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The earliest English sense was pastry, a meaning that [[pastry]] took over in the 15th century.^(Cresswell 2021) Sweet doughy confections are from 1389–90.^(OED 1989) A glue made of flour and water dates from about 1400,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) and any soft moist mixture from about 1600.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A heavy glass used to imitate gems is paste by the 1660s,^(Etymonline) the clay mixture for earthenware from 1735, and fish paste from 1817.^(OED 1989) The verb, to stick with paste, is from the 1560s.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Pasteboard is from the 16th century and pasty from the 17th.^(Hoad 1986) In dialects of Scotland and northern and Midland England paste was pie-crust dough.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1166 – Paste (surname).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1303 – dough.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – a glue.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1560s – to paste (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660s – paste, imitation gems.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1817 – fish paste.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A soft, smooth, thick mixture, such as toothpaste.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An adhesive made of flour or starch and water, used especially for paper.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Food pounded into a smooth spread, such as fish or meat paste.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Dough made with fat, as for pastry.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A sweet doughy confection: ''almond paste''.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A hard, brilliant glass used to make imitation gems.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To stick with paste, or as if with paste.^(AHD)

+ # To cover something by pasting things on it.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[impaste]]

+ * [[pasteboard]]

+ * [[pastedown]]

+ * [[pasteup]]

+ * [[toothpaste]]

+ * [[prepaste]]

+ * [[unpaste]]

+ * [[paster]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[patty]]

+ * [[pasta]]

+ * [[pastry]]

+ * [[pasty]]

+ * [[pâté]]

+ * [[pastel]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Paste, to hit hard (1846), is a separate word, probably an alteration of [[baste]], to beat.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) In Midland and London dialect it meant to thrash or to strike in the face.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}