spot English · revision 2710

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited, borrowing|attested=before 1200, Ancrene Riwle}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /spɒt/, US /spɑːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|spotte]], spot,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) probably partly a variant of [[m|ang|splott|t=a spot, blot, patch of land]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and partly from or related to [[dum|spotte|t=stain, speck]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) Related forms are East Frisian spot “speck”, North Frisian spōt “speck, piece of ground” and Old Norse spotti “small piece”;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) some of these Germanic words are probably borrowed from others, and the exact development is unclear.^(Etymonline) It was used as a surname, Spotte, from 1194.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb is from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A small mark, blot or stain, and a moral stain: before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A speck or stain left on a surface is from the mid-14th century (1340 in the OED),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) a patch on an animal's fur from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and an eruption on the skin from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The sense of a particular place is recorded about 1380 but did not come into general use until the late 1600s.^(Barnhart 1988) ''On the spot'', “at once, without moving”, is by the 1670s,^(Etymonline) ''hit the spot'' by 1857,^(Etymonline) and ''put someone on the spot'' from 1928.^(Etymonline) A short slot in a broadcast for an advertisement is by 1937, from an act's position on a bill (1923).^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to stain” from about 1250;^(Barnhart 1988) “to recognize, detect” was first applied to a criminal or suspect (1718) and was used generally from 1860.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The adjective, as in ''spot cash'' and ''spot price'', is from 1881.^(MW Collegiate) ''Spotless'' is from about 1380 and ''spotlight'' from 1904.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1194 – as a surname.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1200 – a moral stain; a small mark.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1250 – verb, to stain.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1380 – a particular place.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1670s – ''on the spot''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1718 – verb, to recognize a criminal.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1860 – verb, to detect, see.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1881 – adjective, as in ''spot cash''.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1904 – ''spotlight''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1928 – ''put on the spot''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small mark on a surface differing in color from what surrounds it; a [[stain]] or [[blot]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[pimple]] or blemish on the skin.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A place of limited extent; a particular [[location]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[blemish]] on character; a fault.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A short slot in a broadcast or an entertainment programme.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(chiefly British, informal)'' A small amount: ''a spot of lunch''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[spotlight]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To mark with spots; to stain.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To see, [[detect]] or recognize.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To place in a particular location.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Paid or delivered at once: ''spot cash'', ''the spot price''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Made at random: ''a spot check''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[spottable]]

+ * [[spotlike]]

+ * [[respot]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spotless]]

+ * [[spotlight]]

+ * [[spotty]]

+ * [[spotted]]

+ * [[splotch]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}