cesspool English · revision 1515

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=1583}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɛsˌpuːl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is uncertain.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Word Histories) The usual explanation is that it is [[inh|enm|suspiral|t=vent, breathing hole; drainpipe; settling tank]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|souspirail|t=air hole, vent]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|fro|souspirer|t=to breathe, sigh]], from [[la|suspīrāre|t=to breathe deeply, sigh]] (see [[suspire]]).^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Its variant [[m|en|cesperalle]] (1583) was altered by association with [[pool]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) Others take the second element as original and derive the first element from [[recess]],^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline)^(MW Word Histories) from [[it|cesso|t=privy]],^(RHWU)^(MW Word Histories) or from dialect [[m|en|suss|t=hogwash]];^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Word Histories) the early spelling [[m|en|cestpool]] has also suggested [[cistern]].^(Etymonline)^(MW Word Histories)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small pit in the bottom of a drain, under a grating, to catch sand and gravel (1583 in the OED, as ''cesperalle'';^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) ''cestpool'' 1671 in Barnhart).^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Merriam-Webster's ''Word Histories'' calls the word “a veritable reservoir of etymological murk”.^(MW Word Histories) From 1782 it was a well sunk to receive the waste from a privy or sink, letting the liquid soak away.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) The figurative sense, a filthy or morally corrupt place, as in ''a cesspool of iniquity'', is from 1837.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023) ''Cesspit'' was formed from it in the 19th century.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1583 – ''cesperalle'', a settling pit in a drain.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1671 – ''cestpool''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1782 – a pit for household sewage.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1837 – figuratively, a place of corruption.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A covered pit or underground tank for receiving drainage or [[sewage]], as from a house.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A filthy, disgusting or morally corrupt place.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cesspipe]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cesspit]]

+ * [[pool]]

+ * [[suspire]]

+ * [[sewer]]

+ * [[sump]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}