page English · revision 3450

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /peɪdʒ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|leaf of a book}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1589 (Nashe)|origins=la pāgina}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The leaf is [[bor|frm|page]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) a reduced form of [[m|fro|pagene|t=page, text]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|pāgina|t=page, leaf of paper; strip of papyrus; vine trellis]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966) related to [[m|la|pangere|t=to fasten, fix]],^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Cresswell 2021) from [[ine-pro|*peh₂ǵ-|alt=*pag-|t=to fasten]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) It replaced Middle English pagyn, pagine, borrowed earlier from French or Latin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Word Origins explains the sense from strips of papyrus glued together into a scroll;^(Cresswell 2021) Etymonline also cites the theory of vines fastened to stakes in a trellis, hence columns of writing.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One side of a leaf of a book: 1589, in Nashe's works,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) or the 1580s.^(Etymonline) The earlier form ''pagine'' is from about 1200.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An episode or phase, as in ''a page of history'', is from 1619.^(OED 1989) The type set for one page is from 1727–41.^(OED 1989) The verb meant “to number the pages of” from 1628,^(OED 1989)^(HTOED) and “to turn the pages” by 1943.^(Etymonline) A division of a computer's memory is from 1948.^(OED 1989) A ''page-turner'', a gripping book, is from 1974.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – ''pagine''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1589 – ''page'' (Nashe).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1619 – an episode.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1628 – verb, to number pages.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1943 – verb, to turn pages.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1948 – computer memory.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1974 – ''page-turner''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # One side of a leaf of a book, letter or newspaper; the whole leaf.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The writing or printing on one side of a leaf.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A noteworthy event or episode.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A unit of computer memory; a [[web page]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To number the pages of; to [[paginate]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To turn the pages of: ''page through''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pagination]]

+ * [[paginate]]

+ * [[front-page]]

+ * [[page-turner]]

+ * [[pageful]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|attendant}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300 (Kyng Alisaunder)|origins=fro page}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The attendant is [[inh|enm|page]], [[bor|fro|page|t=a youth, servant]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) possibly through [[it|paggio]] or [[la-med|pagius|t=servant]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) perhaps ultimately from [[grc|παιδίον|tr=paidíon|t=boy, lad]], a diminutive of [[m|grc|παῖς|tr=paîs|t=child]].^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) The OED, with the Century Dictionary, considers this unlikely and points instead to Littré's suggestion of Latin [[m|la|pāgus|t=countryside]], as “a boy from the country” (see [[pagan]]).^(Etymonline) Hoad calls it of uncertain origin.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A youth preparing to be a knight: probably before 1300, in ''Kyng Alisaunder'',^(Barnhart 1988) and a boy or lad before 1300.^(OED 1989) It occurs as a surname in the early 13th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A boy servant is from about 1300,^(Barnhart 1988) and in Middle English the word also meant a man of low status, used contemptuously.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) A youth attending a person of rank is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) From the late 18th century it was transferred to boys running errands in hotels and clubs, and in the United States to messengers in legislatures.^(Etymonline) The verb “to summon by name”, as if sending a page, is from 1904,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) later by loudspeaker or electronic pager.^(AHD) In East Anglia a shepherd's boy was a ''page''.^(Wright 1898)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – a youth training for knighthood.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – a boy servant.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – an attendant to a person of rank.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 18th century – an errand boy in a hotel.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1904 – verb, to summon.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(historical)'' A boy serving a knight as the first stage of training for knighthood.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A youth attending a person of rank or at a ceremony.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A person employed to run errands or carry messages, as in a hotel or legislature.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To summon by calling out a name, or by a [[pager]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pageboy]]

+ * [[pager]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pageant]]

+ * [[pact]]

+ * [[peace]]

+ * [[pagan]]

+ * [[pedagogue]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}