refuge English · revision 14961

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1385|origins=la fugiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈref.juːdʒ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|refuge]], [[bor|fro|refuge|t=hiding place]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[la|refugium|t=a taking refuge, place to flee back to]], from [[m|la|re-|t=back]] and [[m|la|fugiō|t=to flee]] (see [[fugitive]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Shelter or protection from danger: about 1385, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, in Barnhart; about 1386 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A person or thing that gives shelter or comfort is from about 1430,^(OED 1989) and a place of safety from the 15th century.^(OED 1989) ''To take refuge'' is from the 1690s.^(Etymonline) By the late 19th century it was especially a temporary shelter for the homeless,^(Etymonline) and a traffic island for pedestrians is a refuge from 1869.^(OED 1989) A mountain hut for climbers is from 1817.^(OED 1989) The verb, to give refuge, is from the 1590s, and is now rare.^(Etymonline) Refugee is from 1685, from [[fr|réfugié]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1385 – shelter, protection.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1430 – a protector.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – to refuge (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1685 – refugee.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1690s – to take refuge.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1869 – a traffic island.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Shelter or protection from danger or hardship.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A place that gives shelter or protection; a [[sanctuary]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A source of help, relief or comfort.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British)'' A traffic island.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(archaic)'' To give refuge to, or to take refuge.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[refugee]]

+ * [[refugium]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fugitive]]

+ * [[subterfuge]]

+ * [[centrifugal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}