wood English · revision 3097

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /wʊd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|wode]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|wudu]], earlier [[m|ang|widu|t=tree, trees collectively, forest; the substance of trees]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*widuz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*widhu-|t=tree, wood]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is cognate with Old High German witu “wood”, Old Norse viðr “tree, wood” (Danish and Swedish ved), Old Irish fid “tree, wood” and Welsh gwŷdd “trees”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A tree: about 725, in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The first meaning was “a tree”, and “a collection of trees, a small forest” followed soon after, by 825.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989) The substance of trees, timber, was also an Old English sense.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Old English sometimes used it to mean “wild” as opposed to domesticated, as in wudubucca “wild goat” and wudurose “wild rose”.^(Etymonline) As an adjective, “made of wood”, it is from the 1530s.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to surround with trees”, is from 1538, and “to supply with wood for fuel” from 1628.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) ''Not see the wood for the trees'' dates from the mid-16th century.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Out of the woods'', “safe”, is by 1792,^(Etymonline) probably from the 18th-century proverb “don't halloo till you are out of the wood”.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Touch wood'' is recorded since 1829, and ''knock on wood'' from the early 20th century.^(Cresswell 2021) In printing, ''wood'' meant wooden blocks for the largest type, by 1839.^(Etymonline) A golf club with a wooden head is a later sense.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – a tree.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 825 – a forest.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530s – adjective, wooden.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1538 – verb, to plant with trees.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-16th century – ''not see the wood for the trees''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1628 – verb, to supply with fuel.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1792 – ''out of the woods''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1829 – ''touch wood''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The hard fibrous substance under the [[bark]] of trees and shrubs.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # This substance cut for use as [[timber]] or fuel.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An area of land covered with trees, smaller than a [[forest]]; often ''woods''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A golf club with a large head, originally made of wood.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[cask]] or barrel: ''wine from the wood''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made of wood; [[wooden]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To plant with trees.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To supply with wood for fuel.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[woodless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wooden]]

+ * [[woodland]]

+ * [[woodpecker]]

+ * [[woodbine]]

+ * [[woodcock]]

+ * [[woodchuck]]

+ * [[forest]]

+ * [[timber]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different word, obsolete except in dialect, is ''wood'' “mad, insane”, from Old English wōd, from about 725;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) it is cognate with Gothic woþs “possessed”, German Wut “rage” and the god-name Odin.^(Etymonline) Etymonline suggests that possible confusion with the noun may have discouraged its use.^(Etymonline) It survived in the dialects of Scotland, Ireland and northern England.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}