cone English · revision 16167

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1562, Turner, Herball|origins=grc κῶνος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkəʊn/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkoʊn/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|cône]] or Latin [[m|la|cōnus|t=cone, peak of a helmet]],^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024) from [[grc|κῶνος|tr=kônos|t=pine cone, spinning top, cone]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Klein and Merriam-Webster connect it with ''[[hone]]'' and [[la|cōs|t=whetstone]], from a root meaning sharp,^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024) which Etymonline gives as only a possibility.^(Etymonline) Middle English already had [[m|enm|cone]], the corner of a [[quadrant]] (about 1400).^(MED)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The cone-shaped fruit of pines and firs: 1562, in William Turner's ''Herball''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) The Middle English geometrical ''cone'', the angle of a quadrant, is from about 1400.^(MED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Ayto notes that the Greek word first meant a pine cone, whose shape suggested the geometrical figure.^(Ayto 2005) In English the geometrical solid is from 1570, in Billingsley's translation of Euclid,^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) and a conical mass of any substance from 1585.^(OED 2026) Later uses include a cone-shaped shell (1770),^(OED 2026) an alluvial fan (1864),^(OED 2026) and the ice-cream cone (originally American, 1920).^(OED 2026) The verb is from the late 15th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1400 – ''cone'', the corner of a quadrant.^(MED)

+ * 1562 – the fruit of a pine or fir.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570 – the geometrical figure, and ''[[conic]]''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1585 – a conical mass.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1770 – a cone shell.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1920 – an ice-cream cone.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A solid figure with a circular base that tapers to a point.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The cone-shaped fruit of a [[conifer]], made of woody scales holding the seeds.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Anything shaped like a cone, such as a [[wafer]] holding ice cream.^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To shape like a cone.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coneflower]]

+ * [[conehead]]

+ * [[bicone]]

+ * [[conenose]]

+ * [[conoid]]

+ * [[pinecone]]

+ * [[conic]]

+ * [[cinder cone]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[conifer]]

+ * [[hone]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}