various English · revision 2578

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1425|origins=la varius}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈveə.ri.əs/, US /ˈver.i.əs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|various]], from [[la|varius|t=changing, different, diverse, variegated]] with the suffix [[-ous]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)^(COED 2004) perhaps partly through Middle French varieux^(Barnhart 1988) or Medieval Latin *variosus.^(MW Collegiate) Latin ''varius'' is of uncertain origin,^(Barnhart 1988) probably related to [[m|la|vārus|t=bent, knock-kneed]].^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) It is the source of [[vary]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Characterized by variety, of diverse kinds: probably before 1425, in a translation of Chauliac's ''Grande Chirurgie'',^(Barnhart 1988) or the early 15th century.^(Etymonline) The SOED also records “varied in colour, variegated” as an early, chiefly poetic sense.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Changeable, variable” is from 1552, and of persons “inconstant, fickle” from 1636, both now obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) “Differing from one another, of different kinds” is from the 1630s.^(Etymonline)^(HTOED) With a plural noun, “several, many different”, it is a 17th-century development.^(Hoad 1986) The pronoun use, as in ''various of the members'', is from 1877.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1425 – of diverse kinds.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1552 – changeable.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1630s – differing from one another.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1877 – pronoun.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of different kinds; [[diverse]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # More than one; several.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+ # Individual and separate: ''the various members''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(literary)'' Many-sided; [[variegated]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # Several different people or things: ''various of the members''.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[variously]]

+ * [[variousness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[variant]]

+ * [[variation]]

+ * [[variegate]]

+ * [[variety]]

+ * [[vary]]

+ * [[variable]]

+ * [[prevaricate]]

+ * [[variegated]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary notes that the pronoun use of ''various'', as in ''He spoke to various of the members'', is supported by analogy with ''several'' and ''many'', but has met widespread critical objection.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}