vague English · revision 15324

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1548|origins=la vagus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /veɪɡ/; /væɡ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|vague|t=wandering; empty]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|vagus|t=wandering, rambling, vacillating]] (see [[vagary]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which is of uncertain origin; de Vaan suggests a link with [[non|vakka|t=to stray, hover]] and [[goh|wankōn|t=to totter]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of statements, couched in general terms, without precise expression: 1548 in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1540s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) In the 16th century it applied the idea of a wandering mind to someone who could not think or speak clearly.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Not precise in meaning, of words, is from 1690, in Locke's ''Essay Concerning Human Understanding'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and indefinite, of ideas, from before 1704, also in Locke.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Of feelings it is by 1797,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and of shapes indistinctly seen by 1822.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A separate noun vague, a prank, is recorded from 1523, chiefly in Scots.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1548 – of imprecise statements.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1690 – of imprecise words.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1704 – of ideas.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1797 – of feelings.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1822 – of indistinct shapes.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not clearly expressed or explained; [[imprecise]]: ''vague promises''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not clearly seen or felt; [[indistinct]], [[hazy]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a person, not thinking or expressing oneself clearly; [[absent-minded]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vaguely]]

+ * [[vagueness]]

+ * [[unvague]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vagabond]]

+ * [[vagary]]

+ * [[vagus]]

+ * [[extravagant]]

+ * [[vagrant]]

+ * [[divagate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}