team English · revision 1780

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 825|origins=ine-pro *deuk-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tiːm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|teme]],^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|tēam|t=childbearing; offspring, family; a set of draught animals]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) from [[gem-pro|*taumaz]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) probably from [[m|gem-pro|*tauhmaz]] “that which draws or pulls”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*deuk-|t=to lead, draw]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Klein 1966) Its cognates mostly mean “bridle, rein”: [[ofs|tām|t=bridle; progeny]], [[osx|tōm]], [[nl|toom]], [[goh|zoum]] (modern [[de|Zaum]]) and [[non|taumr]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Weekley notes that this “rein” sense, apparently the original one, is not recorded in Old English, and the English sense is not found in the other Germanic languages.^(Weekley 1921) It is related to Old English [[m|ang|tēon|t=to draw, pull]] and [[m|ang|togian|t=to pull, drag]] (see [[tow]]),^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Chambers 2008) and through the root to [[la|dūcere|t=to lead]].^(Klein 1966)^(NODE 1998)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Old English, a set of draught animals yoked together (about 825); also offspring or a line of descent (902) and the bearing of children (about 1000).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ According to the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins the earliest meaning was “the bearing of children”, which led to “a brood of young animals” and then to “a set of draught animals working together”;^(Cresswell 2021) the OED's dated evidence, however, has the draught-animal sense first.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) The senses of childbearing and offspring were lost by about 1500,^(HTOED) though in dialect ''team'' long meant a litter of pigs or a brood of ducks.^(SOED 2002)^(HTOED) In Old and early Middle English law it was also a group of people acting together to bring a suit to recover stolen property.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The general sense of people acting together appears in the 1520s,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the sports sense, one side in a game, in 1834 in the Historical Thesaurus, 1846 (in cricket) in Etymonline.^(HTOED)^(Etymonline) ''Team spirit'' is recorded by 1879 in American sports jargon and ''team player'' by 1886, first in baseball.^(Etymonline) The verb meant to harness animals in a team from 1552,^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) to drive a team (North American) from 1841,^(OED 1989) and to join together as a team, usually ''team up'', from the early 20th century (1901 in the Historical Thesaurus, 1932 in the OED);^(HTOED)^(OED 1989) the sense “to match (garments)” dates from 1936.^(HTOED) In criminal slang ''team'' has meant a gang since about 1950.^(Dalzell 2013)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 825 – Old English ''tēam'', set of draught animals.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 902 – offspring, line of descent.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1000 – childbearing; a brood.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1520s – people working together.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1552 – verb, to harness in a team.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1834 – one side in a game.^(HTOED)

+ * 1841 – to drive a team (North America).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1879 – ''team spirit''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1901 – to join together as a team.^(HTOED)

+ * 1936 – to match garments.^(HTOED)

+ * c. 1950 – a criminal gang (slang).^(Dalzell 2013)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A group of players forming one side in a game or [[sport]].^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A group of people organized to work together: ''a team of engineers''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Two or more [[draught]] animals harnessed together to pull a vehicle or [[plough]]; these with the vehicle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A group of animals exhibited or performing together.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(dialect)'' A brood or [[litter]] of young animals.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' Offspring; [[lineage]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' A gang of criminals.^(GDoS)^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To join or work together as a team, usually ''team up''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To match or coordinate one thing with another.^(COED 2004)^(HTOED)

+ # To harness animals in a team.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # ''(North America)'' To haul with a team; to drive a team or truck.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or done by a team: ''a team effort''.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[double-team]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[teem]]

+ * [[tow]]

+ * [[tug]]

+ * [[duke]]

+ * [[teamster]]

+ * [[teamwork]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House treats ''team'' as a [[collective noun]].^(RHWU) In British English it is often construed as plural (''the team are''), and in American English as singular.^(Collins 2023)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}