deep English · revision 2612

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=854|origins=ine-pro *dʰewb-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /diːp/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dep]], [[inh|ang|dēop|t=deep; profound, mysterious]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*deupaz]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Saxon diop, Dutch [[m|nl|diep]], German [[m|de|tief]], Old Norse [[m|non|djúpr]] and Gothic diups.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) It is from [[ine-pro|*dʰewb-|alt=*dheub-|t=deep, hollow]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Lithuanian dubùs “deep, hollow”, Welsh dwfn “deep” and Old Irish domun “world”, through “bottom”, “foundation”, “earth”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[dip]]^(Barnhart 1988)^(COED 2004)^(MWU 2024) and [[dive]].^(Cresswell 2021) The adverb and noun are Old English dēope and dēop, from the adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English dēop: 854 in the OED,^(OED 1989) or about 725, in a version of the poem ''Genesis''.^(Barnhart 1988) Middle English dep is from before 1150, and earlier in the place name Depehill (1119).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English ''deep'' was already used figuratively, “profound, mysterious; serious, solemn”.^(Etymonline) By about 1200 it meant “sagacious, of penetrating mind”, of persons.^(Etymonline) Extending inward or back from the front is from before 1000^(OED 1989) or the early 14th century.^(Etymonline) Of sound, “low in pitch”, and of colour, “intense”, it is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The noun, deep water, especially the sea, is Old English,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and ''the deep'' for the ocean is from before 1333.^(Barnhart 1988) ''In deep water'', “in trouble”, has biblical origins in the Psalms.^(Cresswell 2021) In cricket a fielder ''deep'' stands far from the batsman, from 1867,^(OED 1989) and the ''deep end'' of a swimming pool is from 1921,^(OED 1989) giving ''go off the deep end'' and ''thrown in at the deep end''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 854 – having great extension downward.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1000 – extending far back.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – of persons, penetrating.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – of sound and colour.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1333 – ''the deep'', the sea.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1867 – in cricket.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1921 – ''deep end''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Extending far down from the top or surface.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Extending far back from the front, or far in from the outside.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Having a specified depth: ''six feet deep''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Difficult to understand; [[profound]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Intense or extreme: ''deep sleep''.^(AHD)

+ # Of colour, dark and rich; of sound, low in pitch.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Far down, in or back; [[deeply]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(literary)'' The sea: ''the deep''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # A deep place in the sea, or in land.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[deeply]]

+ * [[deepness]]

+ * [[rapture of the deep]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[deep fat]]

+ * [[deep freezer]]

+ * [[deep pockets]]

+ * [[Deep South]]

+ * [[deep space]]

+ * [[deep structure]]

+ * [[Deep Throat]]

+ * [[depth]]

+ * [[deepen]]

+ * [[dip]]

+ * [[dive]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}