end English · revision 1774

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=ine-pro *ant-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /end/^(Roach et al. 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|ende]], [[inh|ang|ende|t=end, conclusion; boundary; district]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD) from [[gem-pro|*andiaz]], originally “the opposite side”,^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) from [[ine-pro|*ant-|t=front, forehead]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) Its cognates include [[nl|einde]], [[de|Ende]], [[non|endir]] and [[got|𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌴𐌹𐍃|tr=andeis]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) and outside Germanic [[sa|अन्त|tr=ánta|t=end, boundary]], [[la|ante|t=before]] and [[grc|ἀντί|tr=antí|t=against]].^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966)^(Hoad 1986) The verb is [[inh|ang|endian|t=to end, finish; to die]], from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ The dialect verb ''end'', “to put hay or grain into a barn” (1607), is probably an alteration of the verb [[in]], “to harvest”.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The extremity of something; its conclusion; a boundary; a district (Old English ''ende'', about 725).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original sense, the outermost part of something, is obsolete except in ''the ends of the earth''.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) The senses “destruction, death” and “a quarter of a town” were already Old English,^(Etymonline) the latter surviving in ''East End'' and ''West End''.^(SOED 2002)^(HTOED) The sense “intended result, purpose” is from the 14th century,^(Hoad 1986) and a fragment or remnant (''odds and ends'') from 1481.^(HTOED)^(Weekley 1921) ''To make both ends meet'' is recorded by 1661–62;^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) Weekley compares [[fr|joindre les deux bouts]].^(Weekley 1921) Weekley derives ''at a loose end'' from an unattached rope at sea and ''to keep one's end up'' from cricket.^(Weekley 1921) An ''end'', a share in an enterprise, is originally American (1903).^(HTOED)^(Dalzell 2013) ''The end'' meant “the last straw” from 1929 and in jazz slang “the very best” from 1950 in the OED, 1938 in the New Partridge.^(OED 1989)^(Dalzell 2013) Later phrases include ''end zone'' (1909), ''to end it all'', to commit suicide (by 1911), and ''at the end of the day'' (1970s).^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''ende''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 950 – Old English verb ''endian''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 14th century – purpose, intended result.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1481 – a fragment, remnant.^(HTOED)

+ * 1534 – a final cause, purpose.^(HTOED)

+ * 1661 – ''make both ends meet''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1851 – the side of a field held by one team.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1903 – a share (US).^(HTOED)

+ * 1929 – ''the end'', the last straw.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1970s – ''at the end of the day''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The final part of something, or the point at which it stops: ''the end of the day''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Either extremity of something long: ''the end of the pier''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The furthest part or limit: ''the ends of the earth''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A result or outcome; a goal or purpose: ''a means to an end''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Black's Law 2004)

+ # Death or destruction.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(COED 2004)

+ # A remnant or fragment: ''a cigarette end''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A share of an undertaking: ''your end of the deal''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(Dalzell 2013)

+ # ''(sport)'' The part of a field defended by one side; in American football, a player at the end of the line.^(MW Collegiate)^(COED 2004)

+ # ''(the end, informal)'' The limit of what can be tolerated.^(OED 1989)^(GDoS)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To bring or come to an end; to [[finish]] or [[cease]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To form the last part of: ''a wedding scene ends the film''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To reach a final state or place, often with ''up'': ''ended up as a colonel''.^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(archaic)'' To die; to kill.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Final, ultimate: ''end results''.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ended]]

+ * [[ender]]

+ * [[unending]]

+ * [[ending]]

+ * [[never-ending]]

+ * [[be-all and end-all]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[endless]]

+ * [[ante]]

+ * [[anti]]

+ * [[answer]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House distinguishes ''end'', a natural termination or the attainment of a purpose, from ''close'', a planned rounding off, ''conclusion'', which suggests a decision or arrangement, and ''finish'', the last stage of a process.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}