binge English · revision 2129

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɪnd͡ʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from the English dialect verb ''binge'' “to soak”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) used in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire of soaking a wooden vessel so that it would swell and stop leaking.^(RHWU)^(Etymonline) The further origin is unknown.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A heavy drinking bout (1854).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The dialect word was extended locally from soaking a tub to soaking up alcohol, that is, drinking heavily,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) perhaps reflecting the old link between drink and ''soak'' seen in ''an old soak''.^(Barnhart 1995) From a drinking bout it came to mean any spree,^(OED 1989) and around the First World War it was extended to eating as well as drinking.^(Etymonline) The verb ''to go on a binge'' is dated 1910 by Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate) ''Binge-watching'' is from 1996.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1854 – noun, a heavy drinking bout.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1854 – verb, to drink heavily.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1910 – verb, to go on a binge.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * c1914–18 – extended to eating.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1996 – ''binge-watching''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A drunken spree.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A short period of excessive indulgence, as in eating, drinking or spending.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A period of doing something to excess, such as watching a television series.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To indulge excessively, especially in food or drink.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[binger]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spree]]

+ * [[soak]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary groups ''binge'' with ''fling'', ''jag'', ''orgy'' and ''spree'' as words for a period of uncontrolled self-indulgence.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}