channel English · revision 2788

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300|origins=la canna}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|chanel]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|chanel|t=bed of a waterway; tube, pipe, gutter]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a partly latinized variant of chenel,^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|canālis|t=groove, channel, water pipe]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|canna|t=reed, pipe]], the source of [[cane]].^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) It is a doublet of [[canal]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The bed of a stream or of the sea: before 1300 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the early 14th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and before 1325 in ''Cursor Mundi'' in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A gutter beside a street is from about 1440,^(OED 1989) and a navigable passage between shallows from 1553.^(OED 1989) A large strait between two land masses, as ''the English Channel'', is from the 1550s.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense, that through which something passes, a medium of communication, is from 1537, in the sermons of Bishop Latimer,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and an artificial waterway from 1612.^(OED 1989) A circuit for telegraph messages (1848) probably led to a band of frequencies for radio or television (1928).^(Etymonline) The verb, “to cut channels in”, is from 1596, in Shakespeare's ''1 Henry IV'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) and “to convey in a channel” from the 1640s.^(Etymonline) To serve as a medium for a spirit is a late 20th-century sense.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – the bed of a stream.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1537 – a medium of communication.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1550s – a strait.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1596 – verb, to cut channels in.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1640s – verb, to convey.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1848 – a telegraph circuit.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1928 – a radio or television channel.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The bed of a stream or river; the deeper, navigable part of a river or [[harbor]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A wide [[strait]] linking two seas: ''the English Channel''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A groove, [[furrow]] or pipe for liquids.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A means of communication or route through which something passes: ''official channels''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A band of [[frequency|alt=frequencies]] for broadcasting; a television or radio station.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To direct along a particular course: ''channel energy into work''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To cut channels in.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # To serve as a medium for a spirit.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[channeler]]

+ * [[channel-hopping]]

+ * [[channel-surf]]

+ * [[channelize]]

+ * [[interchannel]]

+ * [[mischannel]]

+ * [[multichannel]]

+ * [[rechannel]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[canal]]

+ * [[cane]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate nautical noun ''channel'', a plank projecting from a ship's side to spread the shrouds, is an alteration of chain-wale, from 1769.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}