dope English · revision 2057

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: [dəʊp] ''(UK)''; [doʊp] ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|nl|doop|t=sauce]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''dopen'' “to dip”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) It is related to [[dip]].^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A sauce or gravy; any thick liquid (1807, American English).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Barnhart links many of the later senses through the idea of thickness.^(Barnhart 1995) ''Dope'' came to mean any thick preparation, such as a lubricant,^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) and a stupid, thick-headed person (1851).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) By 1889 it meant the thick opium preparation used for smoking, and then any stupefying drug;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from 1900 it was used of drugs given to racehorses.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) The sense “inside information” (1901) may come from knowing which horse had been drugged before a race.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) ''To dope out'', to figure out, follows in 1906.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In the American South ''dope'' also means a cola drink.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1807 – a sauce or gravy.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1851 – a stupid person.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1868 – verb, to smear, daub.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1889 – opium; a narcotic.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1889 – verb, to drug.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1901 – inside information.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1906 – ''dope out'', to work out.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1955 – verb, to treat a semiconductor with an impurity.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1981 – adjective, slang, excellent.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An illegal or narcotic drug, especially marijuana.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A drug given to a racehorse to affect its performance.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(informal)'' A stupid person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(informal)'' Information, especially from an inside source.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A thick liquid or paste, such as a lubricant or a varnish for aircraft fabric.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(chiefly Southern US)'' A cola drink.^(MW Collegiate)^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give a drug to, or to add a drug to.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To figure out (usually ''dope out'').^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To add an impurity to a semiconductor.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(slang)'' Excellent.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[doper]]

+ * [[dopehead]]

+ * [[dopester]]

+ * [[dopey]]

+ * [[dope fiend]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dip]]

+ * [[dopant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}