hit English · revision 2491

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1075 (late Old English hyttan)|origins=gem-pro *hitjan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /hɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|hitten]], [[inh|ang|hittan|t=to come upon, meet with]] (also [[m|ang|hyttan]]), [[bor|non|hitta|t=to light upon, meet with; to hit]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(COED 2004) from [[gem-pro|*hitjan]], of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Barnhart compares [[cy|cwyddo|t=to fall]] and traces both to [[ine-pro|*keid-|t=to fall]],^(Barnhart 1988) while Merriam-Webster suggests a link with Old English [[m|ang|hentan|t=to pursue, seize]].^(MWU 2024) Its relatives include [[sv|hitta|t=to find]] and [[da|hitte|t=to hit, find]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To come upon, meet with: late Old English ''hyttan'', before 1075.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In late Old English the meaning shifted to “to strike”, by way of “to reach with a blow or missile”, and ''hit'' displaced the Old English [[m|ang|slēan]], modern ''slay'', in this sense.^(Etymonline) Barnhart finds “to strike” probably before 1200, in Layamon's ''Brut''.^(Barnhart 1988) The old sense survives in ''hit it off'' (1780) and in the slang ''hit on'' (1970s).^(Etymonline) The noun meant “a rebuke” before 1475 and “a blow” from 1598.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Hit the nail on the head'' is from the 1570s, an image from archery according to Etymonline;^(Etymonline) in late Middle English it had the form “hit on the head of the nail's end”.^(Cresswell 2021) A successful play or song has been a ''hit'' since 1811, from the verb's sense “to hit the mark, succeed”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the word was used in cricket from 1810–11.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Hit the road'' is from 1873, ''hit the hay'' from 1912 and ''hit the bottle'' from 1933.^(Etymonline) In drug slang a ''hit'' is a dose from 1951, and in underworld slang a planned killing from 1970.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1075 – late Old English ''hyttan'', to come upon.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1200 – to strike (Layamon).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1475 – noun, a rebuke.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570s – ''hit the nail on the head''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1598 – noun, a blow.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1780 – ''hit it off''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1811 – a success.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1873 – ''hit the road''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1951 – a dose of a drug.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1970 – a planned killing.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To come against with force; to [[strike]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To reach with a missile or blow: ''hit the target''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To press a key or button.^(AHD)

+ # To affect badly: ''hit hard by the drought''.^(AHD)

+ # To come upon or reach; to arrive at: ''hit the road''.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(baseball, cricket)'' To bat; to make a hit.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A blow, collision or impact.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A successful shot, stroke or throw.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A successful or popular venture, such as a song or film.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(slang)'' A dose of a [[narcotic]] drug, or a puff of a cigarette.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(slang)'' A planned [[murder]] by a criminal gang.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hitless]]

+ * [[hittable]]

+ * [[hitter]]

+ * [[king-hit]]

+ * [[megahit]]

+ * [[mishit]]

+ * [[nonhit]]

+ * [[hit man]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[slay]]

+ * [[hit-and-run]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}