length English · revision 3070

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 893|origins=gem-pro *langiþō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /leŋkθ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|lengthe]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|lengþu]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*langiþō]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) an abstract noun from [[m|gem-pro|*langaz|t=long]], the source of [[long]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the suffix [[-th]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It is cognate with Old Frisian lengethe, Dutch lengte and Old Norse lengd.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English lengþu, about 893.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED's first example, the measure of a thing from end to end, is from 1154.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Extent in time, as of a period or a list, is from before 1240,^(OED 1989) and the quality of being long, as opposed to shortness, from 1388.^(OED 1989) The sporting sense, the length of a horse or boat as a unit in a race, is from the 1650s.^(Etymonline) ''At length'', “in full” and “at last”, is from about 1500.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense “the extreme to which something is carried”, as in ''go to great lengths'', is from the 1690s.^(Etymonline) In theatre slang a ''length'' was 42 lines of an actor's part (1736),^(Etymonline) and the length of a swimming pool is from 1903.^(Etymonline) ''Lengthy'' was first American English, from 1689.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 893 – Old English lengþu.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1154 – extent from end to end.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1388 – the quality of being long.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1500 – ''at length''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1650s – a horse's length in a race.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1689 – ''lengthy''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1690s – ''go to great lengths''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1903 – the length of a pool.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The measurement of something from end to end along its greatest [[dimension]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The amount of time something lasts; [[duration]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The quality of being long.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A piece of something of a certain length: ''a length of rope''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The length of a horse, boat or swimming pool, used as a unit.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''lengths'': the extent to which one goes to achieve something.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[whole-length]]

+ * [[feature-length]]

+ * [[floor-length]]

+ * [[full-length]]

+ * [[half-length]]

+ * [[lengthen]]

+ * [[lengthways]]

+ * [[lengthwise]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[long]]

+ * [[lengthy]]

+ * [[linger]]

+ * [[longitude]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}