show English · revision 1834

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Beowulf)|origins=ine-pro *(s)keu-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|shewen]], [[m|enm|showen]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|scēawian|t=to look at, see, inspect]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) from [[gem-pro|*skauwōjaną]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from the root [[m|gem-pro|*skau-|t=behold, look at]],^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*(s)keu-|t=to see, perceive, watch]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Partridge 1966) Its cognates [[ofs|skāwia]], [[osx|skauwon]], [[nl|schouwen]] and [[goh|scouwōn]] (modern [[de|schauen]]) all mean “to look at”;^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) outside Germanic it is related to [[grc|θυοσκόος|tr=thuoskóos|t=sacrificing priest, literally watcher of the sacrifice]], [[sa|कवि|tr=kaví|t=seer, sage]] and [[la|cavēre|t=to beware]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Partridge 1966) The spelling shew represents an obsolete pronunciation rhyming with view;^(Etymonline) Hoad says it reflects the original falling diphthong of the Old English word.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Old English, to look at, gaze on, inspect (about 725, in ''Beowulf'');^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) the sense “to let be seen” appears in early Middle English, around 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The change from “look at” to “cause to be looked at” took place around 1200 for reasons that are not known; it seems to be unique to English (German ''schauen'' still means “to look at”), and within a century it had displaced the older meaning.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) Partridge quotes Walshe's explanation that the English verb denotes the same action from the opposite point of view.^(Partridge 1966) The senses “to explain, make clear” and, intransitively, “to be seen, appear” followed from about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The strong past participle ''shown'' is found from the 12th century, while the weak ''showed'', ''shewed'' continued into the 19th.^(Hoad 1986) The noun, first “the act of showing” (about 1300), meant “a false appearance” from the 1520s, “an elaborate spectacle” from 1561 and “ostentatious display” from 1713;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) it was used of an exhibition of curiosities by 1760 and of any public display by 1830, and of a radio programme by 1932.^(Etymonline) Colloquial uses such as ''run the show'' are of American origin, according to Weekley;^(Weekley 1921) Green's records ''show'' “an affair, a matter” from 1728.^(GDoS) In horse racing the verb meant to finish in the first three by 1903, and the noun “third place” is American from 1925.^(Etymonline) In Australia ''a show'' has meant “a chance” since 1876.^(Dalzell 2013)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''scēawian'', to look at.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – ''shewen'', to cause to be seen.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – noun, the act of showing; verb, to explain, to appear.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1520s – a false appearance.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1561 – an elaborate spectacle.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1713 – ostentatious display.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1728 – an affair or matter (slang).^(GDoS)

+ * 1789 – ''show of hands''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1850 – ''show business'' (US).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1876 – a chance (Australia).^(Dalzell 2013)

+ * 1890 – ''the show must go on''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1903 – to finish in the first three in a race.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1932 – a radio programme.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1937 – ''show trial''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cause or allow to be seen; to [[display]] or [[exhibit]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To present (a film, programme or performance) to the public.^(COED 2004)^(RHWU)

+ # To guide or [[usher]]: ''showed them to the table''.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # To point out; to teach by [[demonstration]]: ''show me how to swim''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make clear or [[prove]] by reasoning or evidence.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Black's Law 2004)

+ # To reveal (a feeling or quality); of an instrument, to register: ''the barometer shows a fall''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To be or become visible.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # ''(informal)'' To arrive or appear; to [[show up]].^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(Dalzell 2013)

+ # ''(horse racing)'' To finish third or better.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' Of a woman, to look visibly [[pregnant]].^(GDoS)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A display or demonstration: ''a show of strength''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A false appearance; a [[pretence]]: ''a show of friendship''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Ostentatious display.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A public [[exhibition]] or entertainment; a theatrical performance; a radio or television programme.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(COED 2004)

+ # A competitive exhibition of animals.^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' An undertaking or affair: ''run the show''.^(GDoS)^(Weekley 1921)

+ # ''(chiefly Australia)'' A chance.^(MW Collegiate)^(Dalzell 2013)

+ # ''(medicine)'' The discharge of blood-tinged [[mucus]] that signals the start of labour.^(AHD)^(Stedman's)

+ # ''(horse racing)'' Third place.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[showable]]

+ * [[showless]]

+ * [[preshow]]

+ * [[reshow]]

+ * [[foreshow]]

+ * [[outshow]]

+ * [[show-through]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[shew]]

+ * [[showy]]

+ * [[showcase]]

+ * [[showdown]]

+ * [[show business]]

+ * [[caution]]

+ * [[scavenger]]

+ * [[hear]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary calls ''show'' the most general of the verbs meaning to present something to view;^(AHD) ''display'' suggests presenting it to best advantage, ''expose'' bringing it out from concealment.^(AHD) Among the nouns, Random House notes that ''show'' often means an outward appearance that may or may not match the facts, as in ''a show of modesty''.^(RHWU) The spelling ''shew'' is now rare.^(Chambers 2008)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}