ant English · revision 15291

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 899|origins=gmw-pro *āmaitjā}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ænt/, /ɑːnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|ant]], a shortening of [[m|enm|ampte]] (late 14th century) and earlier [[m|enm|amete]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|ǣmete|t=ant]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gmw-pro|*āmaitjā]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[goh|āmeiza]] (modern [[m|de|Ameise]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) a compound of a prefix meaning off, away and a root meaning to cut, so literally the biter-off.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) The other Middle English form, emete, survives as dialect [[emmet]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Before 899, in ǣmethyl, an anthill, in Alfred's translation of Gregory's ''Pastoral Care'';^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's first quotation is from about 1000.^(OED 1989) Middle English amete is from about 1300, ampte 1382 (the Wycliffe Bible) and ant before 1500.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The contraction is like that of [[aunt]] from Latin [[m|la|amita]].^(Etymonline) The white ant, the termite, is from the 17th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''To have ants in one's pants'', to be restless, is American from 1939,^(OED 1989) and antsy is probably from it, in the mid-20th century.^(Cresswell 2021) Since the 1970s emmet has been a Cornish word for a tourist.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – ǣmethyl, anthill.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – amete.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1382 – ampte.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1500 – ant.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1939 – ants in one's pants.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small [[social]] [[insect]] of the family Formicidae, living in organized colonies of workers, males and queens.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antlike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[emmet]]

+ * [[maim]]

+ * [[aunt]]

+ * [[antsy]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Shetland dialect a separate verb ant meant to pay attention to or obey.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}