fade English · revision 15298

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=probably before 1325}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /feɪd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|faden]], [[bor|fro|fader|t=to weaken, wither]], from [[m|fro|fade|t=pale, weak, insipid]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) probably from [[la-vul|*fatidus]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) perhaps a blend of [[la|fatuus|t=silly, tasteless]] (see [[fatuous]]) and [[m|la|vapidus|t=flat, flavourless]] (see [[vapid]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Barnhart notes the word is hard to trace beyond this hypothetical form.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To lose brightness, grow pale: probably before 1325 in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The New Oxford's early sense is to grow weak, waste away.^(NODE 1998)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Losing freshness, as of faded colours, developed alongside the sense of losing strength.^(Cresswell 2021) Of sounds it is used by 1819.^(Etymonline) The transitive sense, to cause to fade, is from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and in cinema and broadcasting, the gradual dimming of a picture or sound, from 1918.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In golf a fade is a ball's swerve, from 1932,^(OED 1989) and the tapering haircut called a fade is from 1988.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1325 – to lose brightness.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590s – to cause to fade.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1819 – of sounds.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1918 – fade in film.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1988 – a fade haircut.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To lose brightness, colour or loudness gradually; to [[dim]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To lose freshness or strength; to [[wither]] or [[wane]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To disappear gradually: ''fade away''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make a picture or sound appear or disappear gradually: ''fade in'', ''fade out''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A gradual dimming of a picture or sound.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fader]]

+ * [[fadable]]

+ * [[fadedly]]

+ * [[fadedness]]

+ * [[fadeless]]

+ * [[fade-out]]

+ * [[prefade]]

+ * [[brake fade]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fatuous]]

+ * [[vapid]]

+ * [[fad]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire dialect, fade (more often ''green-fade'' or ''blue-fade'') was the mould in cheese,^(Wright 1898)^(OED 1989) and in west Scots a fade was a leader in games.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}