net English · revision 3325

15 Oct 2026, 19:39 by bogdan “en10k b0109: lucky … request” current version
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+ English has two words spelled ''net'': the mesh, a native word, and “remaining after deductions”, from French net “clean”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /net/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+ 
+ {{homograph|1|mesh}}
+ 
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 830|origins=gem-pro *natją}}
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ The mesh is [[inh|enm|nett]],^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|net|t=net; snare; spider's web]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*natją]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) perhaps originally “something knotted”, from [[ine-pro|*ned-|t=to bind, tie]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the root of [[la|nōdus|t=knot]].^(Barnhart 1988) Boutkan, quoted by Etymonline, finds no clear Indo-European etymology and suggests a substrate word.^(Etymonline) It is cognate with Dutch net, German Netz, Old Norse net and Gothic nati.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ An openwork fabric for catching fish, birds or animals: before 830 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 888 in the OED,^(OED 1989) with the figurative sense, a snare or trap, from about 825.^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ A spider's web is from about 1000,^(OED 1989) and a light open fabric used against insects from late Old English.^(Etymonline) A mesh bag for the hair is from the late 15th century.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to catch in a net”, is from before 1425^(Barnhart 1988) or the early 15th century;^(Etymonline) “to make into a net” is by 1789.^(Etymonline) In tennis, ''net'' as a call for a let is from 1904.^(OED 1989) ''Network'' is from 1560, a complex system from 1839 and a broadcasting system perhaps from 1914.^(Barnhart 1988) The [[Net]], short for the [[Internet]], is a late 20th-century sense.^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * before 830 – a net for catching.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * c. 1000 – a spider's web.^(OED 1989)
+ * before 1425 – verb, to catch in a net.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * late 15th century – a hairnet.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1560 – ''network''.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1904 – in tennis, a let.^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # An openwork fabric of threads or cords knotted together at intervals.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # A device of such fabric for catching fish, birds or insects.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # A barrier of mesh dividing a court, or forming a goal, in games such as [[tennis]] and [[football]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # A snare or [[trap]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # A system of connected parts; a [[network]], and ''the Net'', the [[Internet]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ===Verb===
+ # To catch in a net.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # To cover or protect with a net.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # To hit a ball into the net, or into the goal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[netting]]
+ * [[network]]
+ * [[netball]]
+ * [[dragnet]]
+ * [[hairnet]]
+ * [[mosquito net]]
+ 
+ {{homograph|2|after deductions}}
+ 
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300|origins=la niteō}}
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ The commercial sense is [[inh|enm|net|t=clean, pure, fine]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|net|t=clean, pure, bright]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|nitidus|t=gleaming]],^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|nitēre|t=to shine]].^(Etymonline) The meaning “remaining after deductions” was probably taken from [[it|netto]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of [[neat]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Clean, trim, elegant: probably before 1300, in ''Arthour and Merlin'',^(Barnhart 1988) about 1300 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Free from deduction, remaining after expenses, is from 1418,^(Barnhart 1988) the early 15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The notion is “clear of anything extraneous”.^(Etymonline) ''Net weight'' is the weight of goods without their packaging.^(Etymonline)^(AHD) The verb, “to gain as clear profit”, is from 1758, in John Adams's diary,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and the noun, a net amount, from 1910.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) “Final, ultimate”, as in ''the net result'', is a later sense.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * before 1300 – clean, trim.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1418 – remaining after deductions.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1758 – verb, to clear as profit.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)
+ * 1910 – noun, the net amount.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Remaining after all deductions, as for [[tax|alt=taxes]] or expenses: ''net income''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # Remaining after the weight of the container is deducted.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # Final; [[ultimate]]: ''the net result''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ===Verb===
+ # To gain or bring in as clear profit.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ===Noun===
+ # A net amount, profit or weight.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[node]]
+ * [[neat]]
+ 
+ ==Usage notes==
+ In Kent dialect a ''net'' was a knitted woollen scarf.^(Wright 1898)
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}