derelict English · revision 2260

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdɛr.ə.lɪkt/ ''(UK)''; /ˈdɛɹəˌlɪk(t)/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|dērelictus|t=forsaken, deserted]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) the past participle of ''dērelinquere'' “to abandon”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[af|la|dē-|relinquere|t1=entirely|t2=to leave behind]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|ine-pro|*leikw-|t=to leave]].^(Etymonline) Barnhart allows a passage through obsolete French ''derelict''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Forsaken, abandoned by the owner or guardian, especially of a ship abandoned at sea (1649).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a noun it meant abandoned property, especially a ship (1670),^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) and then an abandoned or forsaken person (1728).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In law it is also land left dry by a receding water line.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) American usage from 1864 applied it to people guilty of neglecting their duty.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The sense “run-down, dilapidated” and the noun “a destitute homeless person” followed.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1622 – verb, to abandon (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1649 – adjective, abandoned, especially of a ship.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1670 – noun, abandoned property.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1728 – an abandoned or forsaken person.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1864 – ''(US)'' neglectful of duty.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1888 – ''(US)'' someone guilty of neglecting their duty.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Abandoned by the owner or occupant; deserted.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Run-down; dilapidated.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Neglectful of duty; negligent.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Abandoned property, especially a ship abandoned at sea.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A destitute homeless person; a vagrant.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(law)'' Land left dry by a permanent change in the water line.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # Someone guilty of neglecting a duty.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[derelictly]]

+ * [[derelictness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dereliction]]

+ * [[relic]]

+ * [[relict]]

+ * [[relinquish]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}