story English · revision 2027

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1200 (Ancrene Riwle)|origins=grc ἵστωρ}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈstɔː.ri/, US /ˈstɔːr.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The narrative sense is [[inh|enm|storie]], [[bor|xno|estorie]] (Old French [[m|fro|estoire]], modern [[m|fr|histoire]]),^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) and directly from [[la-lat|storia]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a shortening of [[la|historia|t=history, account, tale, story]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The Latin word is [[bor|grc|ἱστορίᾱ|tr=historíā|t=inquiry, record, history]], from [[m|grc|ἱστορέω|tr=historéō|t=to inquire]], from [[m|grc|ἵστωρ|tr=hístōr|t=wise man, judge]], related to [[m|grc|ἰδεῖν|tr=ideîn|t=to see]].^(Barnhart 1988) It is a doublet of [[history]].^(Barnhart 1988) The story of a building is [[m|enm|storie]], from Anglo-Latin ''historia'' “picture; floor of a building” (about 1200),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) perhaps because medieval building fronts were decorated with tiers of painted windows or sculptures, each showing a historical subject.^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A narrative, true or presumed true, of important events or famous people of the past; a history: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Early stories were often passages of Bible history or legends of saints.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was not distinguished from [[history]] until the 16th century,^(Etymonline) and in Middle English a ''storier'' was a historian and ''storial'' meant “historically true”.^(Etymonline) By about 1300 a ''story'' could also be a picture of a scene from history or legend.^(Etymonline) An account of events alleged to have happened is a ''story'' by the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and a humorous anecdote by the early 15th century.^(Etymonline) The literary sense, a tale told to entertain, is dated about 1500 by Etymonline,^(Etymonline) to William Dunbar's poems (1500–20) by Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) and to the 1400s by Word Origins.^(Cresswell 2021) The facts of a case in sequence are its ''story'' from about 1600, and the plot of a novel or play from 1715.^(Etymonline) ''Storyteller'' (1709, Steele) and ''storybook'' (1711, Swift) followed,^(Barnhart 1988) and the ''shaggy-dog story'' was named in the 1930s after a rambling anecdote about a shaggy dog.^(Cresswell 2021) The building sense is recorded before 1384,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''-story'' also appears early in ''clerestory'' (1412).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – a historical narrative (''Ancrene Riwle'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – a historical picture.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1384 – a floor of a building.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – an account of alleged events.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1412 – ''clerestory''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 15th century – a humorous anecdote.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1500 – a tale told to entertain.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1600 – the facts of a case.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1709 – ''storyteller''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1715 – the plot of a novel or play.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An account of an event or events, true or [[fiction|alt=fictitious]].^(AHD)

+ # A [[tale]] told or written to interest or amuse; a short story.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # The [[plot]] of a novel, play or film.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A news report or article.^(AHD)

+ # A complete level of a building, between one floor and the next, in British English usually spelled [[storey]].^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(rare)'' To decorate with scenes from history or legend.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(rare)'' To tell as a story.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[storyless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[history]]

+ * [[storey]]

+ * [[clerestory]]

+ * [[historian]]

+ * [[historiated]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}