equipment English · revision 2817

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation, borrowing|attested=1651}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪˈkwɪp.mənt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|equip|-ment]],^(Etymonline) or it is [[bor|fr|équipement]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|fr|équiper|t=to equip]].^(NODE 1998) It superseded the earlier [[equipage]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1651.^(MWU 2024) In the OED and Etymonline, things used in equipping are from 1717, and the action of equipping from 1748;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) the SOED and NODE put it in the early 18th century.^(SOED 2002)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The concrete sense, anything used to equip a person or thing, such as furniture, outfit or warlike apparatus, came first.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The state of being equipped, or the manner of it, is from 1748.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, a person's intellectual or mental resources, is from 1841.^(OED 1989)^(AHD) In American use it also means the rolling stock of a railway or other transport system.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1651 – first known use, in Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1717 – things used in equipping.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1748 – the action or state of being equipped.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1841 – intellectual resources.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The articles or tools needed for a particular purpose; [[apparatus]] or [[gear]]: ''sports equipment''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The act of equipping, or the state of being equipped.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The mental and emotional qualities that make up a person's resources.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The [[rolling stock]] of a transport system.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[reequipment]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[equip]]

+ * [[equipage]]

+ * [[ship]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Equipment'', ''apparatus'', ''gear'', ''outfit'', ''paraphernalia'' and ''tackle'' all name the things needed for a task or journey;^(AHD) ''apparatus'' suggests instruments for a technical purpose, and ''tackle'' especially fishing equipment.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}