profile English · revision 2995

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1638|origins=la fīlum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈprəʊ.faɪl/, US /ˈproʊ.faɪl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|profilo|t=a drawing in outline]], now proffilo,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|it|profilare|t=to draw in outline]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|it|pro-|t=forth]] and [[m|it|filare|t=to spin, draw a line]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-lat|fīlāre|t=to spin, draw out a line]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|fīlum|t=thread]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) The verb is from the noun or from Italian profilare.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A drawing of the outline of something, especially a face seen from the side: 1638 in Merriam-Webster,^(MWU 2024) 1656 in Blount's ''Glossographia'' in Barnhart and the OED,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and the 1650s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The actual outline or contour of something, especially of the face, is from 1664,^(OED 1989) the 1660s for a side view in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and ''in profile'' from before 1668.^(OED 1989) In architecture and engineering a sectional drawing is a ''profile'' from 1669.^(OED 1989) A biographical sketch or character study is from before 1734,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and has been common in journalism since about 1920.^(OED 1989) A characteristic manner or attitude, as in ''keep a low profile'', is from 1961,^(OED 1989) and the AHD gives the sense “degree of public notice”.^(AHD) The verb meant “to draw in profile” from 1715,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and “to write a sketch of a person” from 1948.^(Etymonline) ''Profiling'' by police, the use of characteristics to identify suspects, is a later sense.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1638 – an outline drawing.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1656 – in Blount's ''Glossographia''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1664 – the outline of a face.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1715 – verb, to draw in profile.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1734 – a biographical sketch.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1948 – verb, to write a profile.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1961 – an attitude, as in ''low profile''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A side view of something, especially of the human head; a drawing of this.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An [[outline]] or contour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The degree to which someone is noticed by the public: ''a high profile''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A short [[biography|alt=biographical]] article about a person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A set of data describing a person or group, such as a user's details on a website.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To draw or describe in profile.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To write or broadcast a profile of.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To pick out people as suspects by their characteristics.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[profiler]]

+ * [[profilometer]]

+ * [[high profile]]

+ * [[low profile]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[file]]

+ * [[filament]]

+ * [[fillet]]

+ * [[filigree]]

+ * [[purfle]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}