felt English · revision 2572

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000 (Ælfric)|origins=gmw-pro *feltu}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /felt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|felt]], [[inh|ang|felt]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) from [[gmw-pro|*feltu|t=something beaten, compressed wool]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Klein 1966) the source also of [[osx|filt]], [[nl|vilt]] and [[de|Filz]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline, Barnhart and Hoad trace it to [[ine-pro|*pel-|t=to thrust, strike, drive]], the root of Latin [[m|la|pellere|t=to drive, beat]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) though Klein, citing Walde and Hofmann, doubts the connection with ''pellere''.^(Klein 1966) The same Germanic base is in the second part of Old English anfilte, the source of [[anvil]],^(Klein 1966) and Medieval Latin filtrum, the source of [[filter]], is from Germanic.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Cloth made of matted wool and fur: Old English ''felt'', about 1000, in Ælfric's ''Glossary''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb “to make of felt” is from the early 14th century^(Etymonline) or 1325,^(OED 1989) and “to press into a feltlike mass” from 1513.^(OED 1989) A felt hat is a ''felt'' from about 1450,^(OED 1989) and a filter of felt from 1527.^(OED 1989) A matted mass of hair or fibre is a ''felt'' from the 14th century,^(OED 1989) and in Scottish and northern dialect a thick growth of weeds.^(Wright 1898) ''Felt-tipped pen'' is from 1953.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – Old English ''felt'' (Ælfric).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1325 – verb, to make of felt.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1450 – a felt hat.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1513 – verb, to mat together.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1953 – ''felt-tipped pen''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A fabric of matted, compressed animal fibres such as wool or fur.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A material resembling this; something made of felt.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made of or like felt.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make into felt; to cover with felt.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To press or mat together.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[felty]]

+ * [[feltlike]]

+ * [[felt-tip pen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[filter]]

+ * [[anvil]]

+ * [[pulse]]

+ * [[feel]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Felt'' is also the past tense and past participle of [[feel]], a separate word;^(Etymonline)^(AHD) as an adjective, “that is or has been felt”, it is recorded from 1581.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) In Yorkshire, Norfolk and Somerset dialect a ''felt'' was a raw hide.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}