lasso English · revision 1670

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlæs.oʊ/, /læˈsuː/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|es|lazo|t=snare, slipknot]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|la|laqueus|t=noose, snare]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The AHD traces it through Vulgar Latin ''*laceum''.^(AHD) It is related to [[lace]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A long rope of untanned hide with a noose at the end, used to catch cattle and wild horses (1768, as ''laço'').^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word is originally American English.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The modern spelling is recorded from 1808 for the noun;^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) the verb, to catch with a lasso, appears in 1807,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and was soon used figuratively.^(OED 1989) Barnhart dates the noun only from 1819.^(Barnhart 1995) Etymonline notes that a lasso can serve as a [[lariat]], but not the other way round.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1768 – ''laço'', the rope with a noose.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1807 – verb.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1808 – the spelling ''lasso''.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long [[rope]] with a running [[noose]] at one end, used especially to catch horses and cattle; a [[lariat]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A tool in image-editing software for selecting an irregular area by drawing round it.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To catch with a lasso, or as if with one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lassoer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lace]]

+ * [[lariat]]

+ * [[noose]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}