search English · revision 3169

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300, Arthour and Merlin|origins=la circus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /sɜːtʃ/, US /sɝːtʃ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|serchen]], cerchen,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|xno|sercher]], Old French cerchier “to search” (modern French chercher),^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) from [[la-lat|circāre|t=to go about, wander, traverse, explore]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|circus|t=circle]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) the source of [[circle]].^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster derives circāre from Latin circum “round about”.^(MWU 2024) The noun is [[inh|enm|serche]], from Anglo-French serche, Old French cerche, from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Its Old English counterpart [[seek]] is unrelated.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To dig for, and to overrun or occupy by force: probably before 1300, in ''Arthour and Merlin'' and ''Kyng Alisaunder'';^(Barnhart 1988) to go through and examine carefully: about 1300,^(Etymonline) and to go about a country to find something, about 1330.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its two main strands, exploring a place thoroughly and trying to find something, are present from the start.^(Cresswell 2021) Examining a person, or bags, for something hidden is from the early 15th century;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) looking through writings or records is from 1387.^(OED 1989) The noun followed about 1400,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) with the phrase ''in search of'' dating from 1455^(OED 1989) and the official search of a ship's cargo from 1462.^(OED 1989) Later compounds include ''search-warrant'' (1739),^(Etymonline) ''search-party'' (1854)^(Etymonline) and ''searchlight'' (1883).^(Barnhart 1988) ''Search me'', a verbal shrug of ignorance, is recorded by 1901.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Search engine'' is attested from 1988.^(Etymonline) In [[research]] the prefix re- intensifies the meaning.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – to dig for; to overrun.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1330 – to go about a place to find something.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1387 – to look through records.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – noun, an act of searching.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * early 15th century – to examine a person.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1455 – ''in search of''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1739 – ''search-warrant''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1901 – ''search me''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1988 – ''search engine''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To look through or over (a place) carefully in order to [[find]] something.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To examine (a person or their belongings) for something hidden.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To make a careful [[investigation]]; to seek.^(AHD)

+ # To look for information in a [[database]] or on the [[Internet]].^(Collins 2023)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act of searching.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The legal boarding and inspection of a ship.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[searchable]]

+ * [[searcher]]

+ * [[searchingly]]

+ * [[searchableness]]

+ * [[re-search]]

+ * [[searchless]]

+ * [[strip-search]]

+ * [[outsearch]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[research]]

+ * [[circle]]

+ * [[circus]]

+ * [[circuit]]

+ * [[seek]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In the woollen trade of Ireland and northern and eastern England, to ''search'' was once to examine cloth officially;^(Wright 1898) a separate ''search'', “a fine sieve”, is a variant of searce.^(OED 1989)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}