start English · revision 1827

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=before 1200 (Layamon)|origins=gem-pro *stert-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stɑːt/ ''(UK)''; /stɑːrt/ ''(US)''^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sterten|t=to leap, move suddenly]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) later [[m|enm|starten]],^(Barnhart 1995) probably [[inh|ang|styrtan|t=to leap up]], recorded only once, in the Northumbrian participle [[m|ang|sturtende]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) with assumed variants [[m|ang|*steortian]] and [[m|ang|*stiertan]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It comes from [[gem-pro|*stert-]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and its cognates include [[ofs|sterta|t=to fall, tumble]], [[nl|storten|t=to rush, fall, spill]], [[goh|sturzen|t=to fall, throw]] (modern [[de|stürzen|t=to hurl, plunge]]) and [[non|sterta|t=to stiffen]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) According to Watkins, as cited by Etymonline, the underlying notion is “to move briskly” and the root is [[ine-pro|*ster-|t=stiff]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[startle]] and [[stare]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1995) A separate noun ''start'' “tail”, from Old English [[m|ang|steort]], survives in [[redstart]].^(SOED 2002)^(Partridge 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To leap, jump, move with a sudden spring (before 1200, in Layamon's ''Brut'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the sense “sudden movement” came “the start of a movement, setting out on a journey”, which in turn led to “beginning” of any kind.^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) By about 1300 the verb meant “to wake suddenly” and “to flinch in alarm”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Hunters spoke of ''starting'' game from its lair from the late 14th century, as in Chaucer's ''start a hare'',^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921) and Weekley derives the idea of setting out and beginning from such sporting uses.^(Weekley 1921) The sense “to cause to begin working” is first recorded in 1666, in Pepys's diary,^(Barnhart 1988) and “to begin to move, set off” without any idea of suddenness in Scott's ''Kenilworth'' (1821).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The noun followed the same path, from a sudden movement or jump (late 14th century) to the beginning of a course of action (1560s) and the signal to begin (about 1600).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Morris (1898) observed that young Australians avoided ''begin'' in favour of ''start'' or ''commence''.^(Morris 1898) Regional slang uses include Australian ''a start'' “a job”^(GDoS) and South African ''start'' “money”.^(DSAE)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – ''sterten'', to leap, move suddenly (Layamon).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1200 – noun, a sudden movement; a short space of time.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1325 – to flinch or recoil in alarm.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1386 – to wake suddenly.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1421 – ''by starts'', intermittently.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1566 – noun, the act of beginning to move or act.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1666 – to cause to begin working (Pepys).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1821 – to set out, begin to move (Scott).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1849 – an opportunity at the beginning of a career.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1873 – ''start in'', to begin (American).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1915 – ''start something'', to cause trouble (American).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1946 – ''housing starts''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To begin to do something or to happen: ''it started to rain''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To set out on a journey.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To cause to begin; to set in motion: ''start the engine''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To found or establish: ''started a company''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # To make a sudden movement from surprise.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To play in the first lineup of a game.^(AHD)

+ # To rouse (game) from its cover.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The beginning of something.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # The place or time at which a race begins.^(AHD)

+ # A sudden movement of surprise: ''woke with a start''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(SOED 2002)

+ # An advantage gained at the beginning; a lead: ''a head start''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An opportunity to begin a career.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[restart]]

+ * [[upstart]]

+ * [[start-up]]

+ * [[starter]]

+ * [[self-starting]]

+ * [[redstart]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[startle]]

+ * [[stark]]

+ * [[stare]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House lists ''begin'' as a synonym and ''end'' and ''terminate'' as antonyms; the American Heritage Dictionary discusses ''start'' among its synonyms of ''begin''.^(RHWU)^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}