put English · revision 1777

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050 (putung)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pʊt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|putten]], [[m|enm|puten|t=to thrust, push; to place]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|*putian|t=to thrust, push]], a verb implied only by the verbal noun [[m|ang|putung|t=instigation, urging]] (about 1050).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Parallel Old English forms are [[m|ang|potian|t=to push]] and [[m|ang|pȳtan|t=to put out, thrust out]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) The American Heritage Dictionary instead derives ''putten'' as a back-formation from an Old English past tense [[m|ang|*pūtte]] of ''pȳtan''.^(AHD) The related words in other Germanic languages include [[dum|poten|t=to plant]], [[nl|poten|t=to plant]], [[non|pota|t=to poke]] and [[da|putte|t=to put]];^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Klein takes the original sense of all of them to be “to push, thrust”.^(Klein 1966) The ultimate origin is unknown;^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) Partridge suggests it may be echoic,^(Partridge 1966) and Weekley that it is probably related to [[butt]] and [[fr|bouter|t=to thrust, push]].^(Weekley 1921) Johnson remarked that for so common a word it was very difficult to find the etymology.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To thrust, push, shove; to move or place (probably before 1200, in ''Ancrene Riwle'' and Layamon's ''Brut'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original sense “to thrust, push” is now obsolete except in Scottish and northern dialect, of butting with the head or horns,^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) and in phrases such as ''put the shot'', ''put a horse at a fence'' and ''put a knife into someone'';^(Weekley 1921) the golf verb [[putt]] is the same word with a differentiated spelling and pronunciation.^(Weekley 1921)^(OED 1989) From about 1300 ''put'' meant “to hurl, cast”, especially a heavy stone overhand.^(Etymonline)^(MED) By the mid-14th century it also meant “to bring someone into a condition” and “to express in speech or writing”;^(Etymonline) ''put to death'' dates from about 1400 and ''put to shame'' from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) The sense “to express in a particular way” (''to put it bluntly'') is from 1571 in the Historical Thesaurus,^(HTOED) and the nautical intransitive use “to proceed, head” (''put to sea'') from 1578.^(HTOED) ''Put up with'', “to tolerate”, was earlier ''put up'', in the sense “to pocket” an insult.^(Weekley 1921)^(Etymonline) The past tense ''putted'' was used in the 14th and 15th centuries and survives in Scottish.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) The adjective ''put'', as in ''stay put'', dates from 1841.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024) The noun “an option to sell stock at a fixed price” is recorded from 1717.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) An unrelated noun ''put'', “a fool, a bumpkin”, is cant of 1688.^(OED 1989)^(GDoS)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – Old English ''putung'', urging.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1200 – ''putten'', to thrust, push, place.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1300 – to throw a heavy stone; noun, a throw.^(Etymonline)^(MED)

+ * mid-14th century – to bring into a condition; to express.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – ''put to death''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1571 – to express in a particular way.^(HTOED)

+ * 1578 – of a ship, to head in a direction.^(HTOED)

+ * 1621 – ''put-on'', pretended.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1688 – ''put'', a stupid fellow (cant).^(OED 1989)^(GDoS)

+ * 1717 – an option to sell stock.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1841 – adjective, fixed in place.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1962 – ''put-down'', a slight.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To place in a particular position; to [[set]] or [[lay]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To bring into a particular state or condition: ''put me at ease''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To subject to something: ''put to death''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To assign or attribute: ''put the blame on''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To [[estimate]]: ''put the time at five o'clock''.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # To express or state; to translate: ''to put it bluntly'', ''put into English''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)^(COED 2004)

+ # To bring forward for consideration: ''put a question''.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # To impose (a tax); to stake (money) on something.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # To throw (a heavy weight) with an overhand pushing motion: ''put the shot''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(nautical)'' To proceed in a given direction: ''put to sea''.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A throw of the shot.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(finance)'' An [[option]] to sell a set amount of stock or a commodity at a fixed price within a set time.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A stupid person; a [[bumpkin]].^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Fixed in place: ''stay put''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[putt]]

+ * [[putter]]

+ * [[input]]

+ * [[output]]

+ * [[butt]]

+ * [[pother]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House distinguishes ''put'', the general word for bringing an object to a place, from ''place'', which suggests precision;^(RHWU) ''lay'' and ''set'' originally meant “to cause to lie” and “to cause to sit”.^(RHWU) Most senses of the verb need an adverbial to complete them: one puts a book ''on the table'', not simply puts a book.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}