bottom English · revision 3028

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=ine-pro *bhudh-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈbɒt.əm/, US /ˈbɑː.t̬əm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|botme]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|botm|t=ground, foundation, lowest part]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*buþmaz|alt=*buthm-]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Old Frisian bodem, Old Saxon bodom, Dutch bodem, Old High German bodam (German Boden “ground, earth”) and Old Norse botn.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is perhaps from [[ine-pro|*bhudhno-|t=bottom]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Latin fundus, Greek pythmḗn and Sanskrit budhná-,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) so that it is related to [[foundation]] and [[fund]].^(Barnhart 1988) The spelling with -tt- replaced the older one after 1400.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb is from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The lowest part of anything, and the bed under a lake or sea: about 725, in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) and before 1000 in the OED.^(OED 1989) It was also used in place names for a valley floor, as in Keldebothem (1153).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Low-lying land or a valley is from about 1325, and now chiefly American.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) The keel or hull of a ship, from Dutch use, is from the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986) “Fundamental character, essence” is from the 1570s,^(Etymonline) while ''to get to the bottom of'' dates from 1773.^(Etymonline) The seat of a person is from 1794,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''bottom dollar'', one's last, from 1857,^(Etymonline) and ''bottoms up'' from 1875 in Etymonline^(Etymonline) and 1917 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The adjective is from 1561, from the noun used attributively.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The verb meant “to put a bottom on” from 1544^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and “to reach the bottom” from 1808;^(Etymonline) ''bottom out'' is a later use.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – the lowest part.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1325 – low-lying land.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1544 – verb, to put a bottom on.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1561 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1570s – the essence of something.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1773 – ''get to the bottom of''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1794 – the buttocks.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1808 – verb, to reach the bottom.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1857 – ''bottom dollar''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The lowest or deepest part of something.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The underside or [[base]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The ground under a body of water.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The lowest or last place: ''the bottom of the class''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The [[buttocks]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Low land along a river.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Lowest; last.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To provide with a bottom.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To reach the lowest point, often with ''out''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bottomer]]

+ * [[bottomed]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[foundation]]

+ * [[fund]]

+ * [[fundament]]

+ * [[profound]]

+ * [[bottomless]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}