rival English · revision 190
5 Oct 2026, 22:13 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
@@ -1,6 +1,47 @@
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈɹaɪvəl/^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− First recorded in the 1570s^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) as “one who pursues the same object as another”,^(Etymonline) [[bor|la|rīvālis|t=rival in love; neighbour]],^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) originally “one using the same stream as another”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la|rīvus|t=stream, brook]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline) [[der|ine-pro|*rei-|t=to run, flow]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD)
+ It is [[bor|la|rīvālis|t=rival in love; neighbour]],^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) originally “one using the same stream as another”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la|rīvus|t=stream, brook]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline) [[der|ine-pro|*rei-|t=to run, flow]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD) Merriam-Webster allows a borrowing via Middle French ''rival''.^(MW Collegiate)
− The OED explains the Latin word as originally meaning one living on the opposite bank of a stream from another.^(OED 1989) Merriam-Webster allows a borrowing via Middle French ''rival''.^(MW Collegiate)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ One who pursues the same object as another (1570s).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The sense development seems to rest on rivalry between neighbours: “one who uses the same stream”, or “one on the opposite bank”, hence one who pursues the same object or resource as another.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) From the 1640s the word meant one who strives to equal or outdo another.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A secondary sense in Latin, and sometimes in English, was “associate, companion in duty”, from the notion of a shared right.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The adjective (1580s) and verb (c. 1600) followed the noun.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1577 – “one pursuing the same object as another”.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1590 – adjective, “competing”.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1605 – verb, “to act as a rival”.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1646 – “one that disputes distinction with another”.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A person or group competing with another for the same goal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Someone or something that equals another in some quality.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(obsolete)'' A companion or associate in some duty.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Competing; having the same claims.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To compete with.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # To equal or nearly equal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[rivalless]]
+ * [[nonrival]]
+ * [[rivalry]]
+ * [[rivalrous]]
+ * [[outrival]]
+ * [[unrivalable]]
+ * [[unrivaled]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[rivulet]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ ''Rival'' is the most general word for seeking to equal or surpass another;^(AHD) ''compete'' means to contend with others for a goal;^(AHD) ''vie'' sometimes stresses the challenge implicit in rivalry;^(AHD) and ''emulate'' implies imitation in an effort to match or outdo.^(AHD)
==References==