hindsight English · revision 1873

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1806}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhaɪn(d)saɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound, [[af|en|hind|sight]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(RHWU) In the sense of understanding after the event it was probably formed as a humorous opposite of the older [[foresight]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The rear sight of a firearm (1806 in Etymonline; 1851 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged and the Historical Thesaurus).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense, seeing after the event what ought to have been done, is attested by 1862 in American English, in the proverb “If our foresight was as good as our hindsight, it would be an easy matter to get rich”.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates it to 1866^(MW Collegiate) and the Historical Thesaurus to 1883.^(HTOED) The gun sense survives in the American colloquial phrase ''knock the hindsight out of'', to defeat or demolish completely.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1806 – the rear sight of a firearm.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1851 – Merriam-Webster's date for the gun sense.^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)

+ * 1862 – understanding after the event (American English).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1866 – Merriam-Webster's date for that sense.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Understanding of the nature and significance of an event after it has happened.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Chambers 2008)

+ # The rear [[sight]] of a [[firearm]].^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)^(Chambers 2008)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[foresight]]

+ * [[insight]]

+ * [[hind]]

+ * [[behind]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}