block English · revision 2825

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1305|origins=dum blok}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|blok]], blokke,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|bloc|t=log, block of wood]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from a Germanic source,^(Etymonline) [[dum|blok|t=trunk of a tree]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) of unknown ultimate origin.^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Related words are Old High German bloh, Middle Low German block and Middle Irish blog “fragment”.^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*bhelg-|t=a thick plank, beam]], the root of [[balk]],^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster perhaps to Old High German bliuwan “to beat”, akin to [[blow]].^(MWU 2024) It was an Anglo-French surname, Blocker, from 1212, and appears in the compound blockbord in 1323.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb is partly from the noun and partly from French bloquer.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A log of wood, part of a tree trunk, a stump: about 1305 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the early 14th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and 1390 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the late 15th century the word was used of any solid piece.^(Etymonline) A block for chopping meat or wood is from about 1485, and the block on which the condemned were beheaded from 1541;^(OED 1989) the phrase ''put one's head on the block'' is from the mid-16th century.^(Cresswell 2021) A stupid person was compared to a block from about 1410.^(OED 1989) A pulley in a wooden case is from about 1400, hence ''block and tackle'' (1825).^(Etymonline) A block of buildings bounded by four streets is North American from 1796;^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) Bartlett (1848) called it “a very useful” American term.^(Etymonline)^(Bartlett 1848) The auction block on which slaves were sold is from 1842.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to obstruct”, is from about 1425,^(OED 1989) the 1590s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and “to blockade” from 1591.^(OED 1989) A block in cricket is from 1772 and in American football from 1889.^(Etymonline) A mental block is a later development of the noun “obstruction” (1831).^(Etymonline) The political ''bloc'' is the same French word readopted in 1903.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1305 – a log, a stump.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – a pulley.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1425 – verb, to obstruct.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1485 – a chopping block.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1541 – the executioner's block.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1591 – verb, to blockade.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1796 – a city block.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1831 – an obstruction.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1842 – an auction block.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A solid piece of hard material, such as wood or stone, with one or more flat sides.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Such a piece used for chopping, or one on which people were [[behead|alt=beheaded]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A section of a town bounded by four streets, or the distance along one side of it.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A large building divided into flats or offices.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A pulley or set of pulleys in a casing.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # An [[obstacle]] or [[obstruction]]; a stoppage of thought: ''a mental block''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A group of things treated as a unit: ''a block of seats''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To stop passage through; to [[obstruct]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To hinder or prevent the movement or progress of; in sports, to stop an opponent or a shot.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To shut out from view.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To shape or support with a block.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[blocker]]

+ * [[blockable]]

+ * [[blockbuster]]

+ * [[roadblock]]

+ * [[blockhead]]

+ * [[blockage]]

+ * [[blocking]]

+ * [[nonblocking]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bloc]]

+ * [[blockade]]

+ * [[balk]]

+ * [[blow]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}