hope English · revision 2012

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|formation=inherited|attested=971 (Old English hopian)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /həʊp/, US /hoʊp/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|hopen]], [[inh|ang|hopian|t=to trust, look forward, hope]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) a word of unknown origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) It belonged first to the Low German area:^(SOED 2002) its cognates are [[ofs|hopia]], [[gml|hopen]], [[dum|hopen]] and [[nl|hopen]], and [[gmh|hoffen]] was borrowed from Low German.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster suggests a connection with [[hop]].^(MWU 2024) The noun is late Old English [[m|ang|hopa]], also [[m|ang|tōhopa]], formed in the same way,^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) and spread to High German and Scandinavian, as [[sv|hopp]].^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English ''hopian'' (971) meant to have the theological virtue of hope, to trust in God's word and hope for salvation, and also more generally to trust or assume confidently.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The noun ''hopa'' (about 1000) was confidence in the future, especially with God as its basis.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the early 13th century the verb also meant “to wish for, desire”,^(Etymonline) and the noun “expectation of something desired” from about 1200.^(Etymonline) From the 14th to the 16th century ''hope'' could also mean simply “to expect”, without any desire.^(HTOED) The noun came to mean “the thing hoped for” and “the grounds for hope” in the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and Hope has been personified since about 1300.^(Etymonline) ''To hope against hope'' (1610s) echoes Romans 4:18, which the Wycliffite Bible (about 1384) renders “Abraham agens hope bileuede”.^(Etymonline) ''Hope springs eternal'' comes from Pope's ''Essay on Man'' (1732).^(Cresswell 2021) ''Hopeful'' appears probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'', and ''hopeless'' in 1566.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 971 – Old English ''hopian''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – noun ''hopa''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1200 – ''hopeful'' (''Ancrene Riwle'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 13th century – to wish for.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – Hope personified.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1566 – ''hopeless''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1610s – ''hope against hope''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1732 – ''hope springs eternal'' (Pope).^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To wish for something and expect that it may happen.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To have confidence; to [[trust]].^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A wish together with confident expectation that it will be fulfilled.^(AHD)

+ # Something hoped for.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A person or thing that is a source of hope.^(AHD)

+ # ''(theology)'' One of the [[theological virtue|alt=theological virtues]], the desire for a future good attainable with God's help.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hoper]]

+ * [[hopingly]]

+ * [[hopeful]]

+ * [[hopeless]]

+ * [[no-hoper]]

+ * [[Cape of Good Hope]]

+ * [[hope chest]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[forlorn hope]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scotland and the north of England a ''hope'' is a small enclosed valley or a hollow among hills, and in Scotland also a small bay or haven, from late Old English ''hop'', of unknown origin.^(SOED 2002)^(Wright 1898) The ''hope'' of ''forlorn hope'' is a separate word, from Dutch ''hoop'' “troop”.^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}