shaft English · revision 14994

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=gem-pro *skaftaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ʃɑːft/, US /ʃæft/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|shafte]], [[inh|ang|sceaft|t=rod of a spear, staff, shaft]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[gem-pro|*skaftaz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) cognate with [[osx|skaft]], [[goh|scaft]] (modern [[de|Schaft]]), [[nl|schacht]] and [[non|skapt|t=shaft, handle]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) Outside Germanic it is compared with [[la|scāpus|t=shaft, stem]] and [[grc|σκῆπτρον|tr=skêptron|t=staff]] (see [[sceptre]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The rod forming the body of a spear or lance: about 1000, in Ælfric's Glossary.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An arrow is from about 1400.^(OED 1989) The long straight part of an object is from the 14th century, and a bar or rod in a machine from the 17th.^(Hoad 1986) The vertical passage of a mine is from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) probably from the same word, perhaps as a translation of [[gml|schacht]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The verb, of the sun, to send out long beams, is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and the colloquial sense, to treat unfairly, by 1958.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – the shaft of a spear.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – an arrow.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 15th century – a mine shaft.^(Etymonline)

+ * 17th century – a rod in a machine.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * by 1958 – to shaft, treat unfairly.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The long narrow stem of a spear or arrow, or the spear or arrow itself.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A remark or attack aimed like a missile: ''shafts of sarcasm''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A ray or beam of light.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A long handle, as of a hammer or golf club.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A rotating rod that transmits power in a machine.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A long vertical passage, as into a mine or for a lift.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To fit with a shaft.^(AHD)

+ # ''(informal)'' To treat harshly or unfairly.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[shaftless]]

+ * [[shaftlike]]

+ * [[subshaft]]

+ * [[turboshaft]]

+ * [[crankshaft]]

+ * [[aftershaft]]

+ * [[camshaft]]

+ * [[countershaft]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sceptre]]

+ * [[shave]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}