business English · revision 1804

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 950 (Old English)|origins=ang bisig}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɪz.nɪs/, /ˈbɪz.nəs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bisinesse]],^(MW Collegiate) [[inh|ang|bisiġnis|t=care, anxiety]],^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)^(Collins 2023) formed [[af|ang|bisiġ|-nis|t1=careful, anxious, busy]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) that is, from [[busy]] and [[-ness]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) It was pronounced with three syllables in Middle English; the present two-syllable form developed in the 17th century.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Anxiety, care, distress (Old English, about 950).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Hendrickson notes that all the earliest uses express anxiety or uneasiness.^(Hendrickson 2008) From Middle English until the 18th century the main sense was “the state of being busy”,^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) and the word also meant diligence and officious meddling.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) The sense “a person's work or occupation” appears before 1387 in Trevisa's translation of Higden,^(Barnhart 1988) and “a duty, a task” in the late 14th century;^(Etymonline) the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins and the New Oxford see these senses as the source of all the current ones.^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) The meaning “trade, commercial dealings” is dated 1478 by the HTOED and 1727 by Etymonline.^(HTOED)^(Etymonline) Once ''business'' had lost its link with ''busy'', the 19th century made the new form [[busyness]] for the old sense.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) In the 17th century ''business'' could also mean sexual intercourse.^(Etymonline)^(GDoS) Many phrases are recorded early: ''mind one's own business'' (1620s), ''business card'' (1840), ''mean business'' (1856) and ''business as usual'' (1865).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – Old English ''bisiġnis'', anxiety.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1350 – diligence, industry (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1387 – a person's occupation (Trevisa).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1478 – trade and commercial activity.^(HTOED)

+ * 1590s – what one is doing at the moment.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1611 – dealings with someone, as in ''no business with''.^(HTOED)

+ * 1611 – (slang) sexual intercourse.^(GDoS)

+ * 1620s – ''mind one's own business''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1727 – trade, commercial engagements collectively.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1840 – ''business card''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1856 – ''to mean business''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1874 – ''business end'' (American).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person's regular occupation or [[trade]].^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # Commercial activity; buying and selling.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A commercial organization; a [[firm]].^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(Black's Law 2004)

+ # The amount of trade done: ''business is slow''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something that is one's proper concern: ''none of your business''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # Work to be done or matters to be dealt with.^(COED 2004)^(Chambers 2008)

+ # An affair or matter: ''a strange business''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # ''(theatre)'' Actions other than speech performed by an actor.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # ''(British informal)'' '''The business''', an excellent person or thing.^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pidgin]]

+ * [[busy]]

+ * [[busyness]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary distinguishes ''business'', the broadest term for commercial, financial and industrial activity, from ''industry'' (making goods, especially on a large scale), ''commerce'' and ''trade'' (exchanging and distributing goods) and ''traffic'' (especially transporting goods or passengers).^(AHD) Random House lists ''calling'', ''vocation'' and ''employment'' as synonyms of the sense “occupation”.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}