occupy English · revision 15112

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1325|origins=la capiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈɒk.jə.paɪ/, US /ˈɑː.kjə.paɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|occupien]], [[bor|fro|occuper]] or directly [[la|occupō|t=to take over, seize, possess]], with an irregular ending,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|ob-|t=over]] and an intensive form of [[m|la|capiō|t=to grasp, seize]] (see [[captive]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*kap-|t=to grasp]].^(Etymonline) The ending, Middle English -ien, cannot be explained from the French or the Latin;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Hoad supposes an Anglo-French form, and Etymonline also suggests an Anglo-French change.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To keep busy: before 1325 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) To take possession of: before 1340 in the OED, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Taking up space or time is from 1340, and employing or busying a person from about 1340.^(OED 1989) Taking a place by settling or conquest is from 1375,^(OED 1989) holding possession from about 1380,^(OED 1989) and living in a place as its tenant from about 1400.^(OED 1989) An early 15th-century sense, to have sexual intercourse with, became a common euphemism in the 16th and 17th centuries, and this drove the word out of polite use for a time.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) Occupation and occupier are from the 14th century, and occupant from the 16th.^(Hoad 1986) In Scots dialect to occupy was to be busy with something, as a spinning wheel.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1325 – to keep busy.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1340 – to take possession.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1340 – to take up space or time.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1375 – to occupy a place.^(OED 1989)

+ * 16th–17th century – a sexual euphemism.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To live in or use a house, office or other place.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To keep busy or engrossed, often in the passive.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To take up an amount of time or space.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To take and hold possession of, by conquest or as a protest: ''students occupied the college buildings''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To hold or fill an office or position.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[occupier]]

+ * [[occupiable]]

+ * [[misoccupy]]

+ * [[preoccupy]]

+ * [[reoccupy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[occupant]]

+ * [[occupation]]

+ * [[capture]]

+ * [[captive]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}