ship English · revision 3044

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *skipą}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɪp/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|schip]], ship,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|sċip|t=ship, boat, vessel]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*skipą]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old Norse and Gothic skip, Dutch schip, Old High German scif and German Schiff.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The further origin is obscure:^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) since Pokorny it has been derived from [[ine-pro|*skey-|alt=*skei-|t=to cut, split]], perhaps as a hollowed-out tree,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) but the semantic connection is unclear,^(Etymonline) and Boutkan finds no certain Indo-European etymology.^(Etymonline) The verb is from late Old English scipian, from the noun.^(SOED 2002)^(Barnhart 1988) French esquif and Italian schifo, the sources of [[skiff]], are Germanic loanwords.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A large seagoing vessel: Old English scip, about 725;^(OED 1989) Barnhart dates it before 800.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb gescipian, “to provide with ships”, is from about 900.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Old English word was used for small craft as well, and the definition changed over time;^(Etymonline) in the 19th century a ship was distinguished from a boat by having a bowsprit and three masts.^(Etymonline) Ships have been personified as feminine since at least the late 14th century, though in the 17th and 18th centuries masculine pronouns were more common.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb, “to send or transport by ship, to board a ship”, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and was transferred to other means of transport, such as the railroad, by 1857 in American English.^(Etymonline) ''Ship of fools'' is after Sebastian Brant's satire ''Das Narrenschiff''.^(OED 1989) The southern constellation Argo was called the Ship by the 1590s.^(Etymonline) ''When one's ship comes in'', “when one's fortune is made”, is from the mid-19th century.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Ship out'', “to depart”, is American military use by 1948.^(Etymonline) ''Shipshape'' is from the 18th century, from ship-shapen “arranged in ship fashion”.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English scip.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 900 – verb, to provide with ships.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – verb, to transport by ship.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – ships personified as feminine.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – the constellation.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1857 – to send by rail.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1948 – ''ship out''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large [[vessel]] for travelling on the sea.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A sailing vessel with a bowsprit and three or more square-rigged masts.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # An [[aircraft]] or [[spacecraft]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The crew of a ship.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To send or transport, by ship or other means.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To put or take on board a ship.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To take in water over the side.^(AHD)

+ # To hire for work on a ship.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[shippable]]

+ * [[shipless]]

+ * [[shiplessly]]

+ * [[shipping]]

+ * [[unship]]

+ * [[reship]]

+ * [[shipment]]

+ * [[shipper]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[skiff]]

+ * [[skipper]]

+ * [[shipshape]]

+ * [[shipwreck]]

+ * [[-ship]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The suffix [[-ship]], as in ''friendship'', is a different word, from Old English -sciepe.^(NODE 1998)^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}