build English · revision 2613

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1016|origins=ine-pro *bʰew-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɪld/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bilden]], earlier bulden,^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) [[inh|ang|byldan|t=to construct a house]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) a verb formed from [[m|ang|bold|t=house, dwelling]], also botl,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) from Proto-Germanic *buþla-,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Old Saxon bodl and Old Norse [[m|non|ból|t=abode]].^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) It is from [[ine-pro|*bʰew-|alt=*bheue-|t=to be, exist, grow; to dwell]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) and is related to Old English [[m|ang|būan|t=to dwell]], the source of [[bower]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(COED 2004) The noun is from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Late Old English byldan: 1016.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED's first quotation, “to construct a dwelling”, is from about 1150.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb was rare in Old English, and in Middle English it won out over the more common [[m|ang|timbran]], the source of [[timber]].^(Etymonline) The modern spelling is unexplained:^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) buylden is in Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'' (1395), but ''build'' did not appear before 1550, and only frequently from the late 1500s.^(Barnhart 1988) Figurative use is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) and of physical things other than buildings, such as a fire, ship or railway, from the late 16th century,^(Etymonline) 1567 in the OED.^(OED 1989) ''Build up'' is from about 1400.^(OED 1989) Etymonline quotes Fenimore Cooper that in the United States everything is ''built''.^(Etymonline) The noun meant “a building” in the early 14th century, now obsolete;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) “style of construction” is from the 1660s,^(Etymonline) 1667 in Merriam-Webster,^(MWU 2024) and the build of the human body later.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1016 – to construct a house.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1325 – noun, a building.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – ''build up''.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – figurative use.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1567 – to build a ship or fire.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660s – noun, style of construction.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 1500s – the spelling ''build''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make by putting parts or materials together; to [[construct]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To develop or establish: ''to build a career''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To increase or develop gradually: ''build up''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The shape and size of a person's body; [[physique]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The style or form of construction of something.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[buildable]]

+ * [[builddown]]

+ * [[builder]]

+ * [[jerry-build]]

+ * [[misbuild]]

+ * [[outbuild]]

+ * [[overbuild]]

+ * [[prebuild]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[building]]

+ * [[built]]

+ * [[bower]]

+ * [[booth]]

+ * [[be]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}