drive English · revision 3464

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Old English drīfan)|origins=gem-pro *drībaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /draɪv/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|driven]], [[inh|ang|drīfan|t=to compel to move; to hunt, pursue; to rush against]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) from [[gem-pro|*drībaną]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Its cognates include [[ofs|drīva]], [[osx|drīban]], [[nl|drijven]], [[de|treiben]] and [[non|drífa]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966) and Gothic has dreiban.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Hoad finds no certain cognates outside Germanic;^(Hoad 1986) Watkins traces it to [[ine-pro|*dʰreybʰ-|alt=*dhreibh-|t=to drive, push]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) and Merriam-Webster compares Lithuanian [[m|lt|dribti|t=to fall in flakes]].^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[drift]] and [[drove]].^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To force to move, to chase: Old English ''drīfan'', about 725,^(Barnhart 1988) used of nails, ships, ploughs, vehicles and cattle.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To compel or incite to an action or state”, as in ''drive mad'', is by the late 12th century,^(Etymonline) “to work with energy” from about 1200, and “to aim a blow” by the early 14th century.^(Etymonline) In Middle English one could ''drive a bargain''.^(Etymonline) To convey someone in a carriage is from the 1660s;^(Etymonline) Etymonline notes that the original sense of pushing from behind was altered when the word was applied to motor cars.^(Etymonline) The noun, an act of driving, is from the 1690s,^(Etymonline) or 1697,^(OED 1989) an excursion by vehicle from 1785, and a carriage road from 1816.^(Etymonline) A forcible hit in cricket is from 1827, and in golf from 1836.^(Etymonline) A campaign to raise money is by 1889, American English, and “dynamism, energy” from 1908.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The computer ''drive'' is by 1963.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''drīfan''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 12th century – to compel.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660s – to convey in a carriage.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1697 – noun, the act of driving.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1785 – noun, a trip in a vehicle.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1816 – noun, a road.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1827 – noun, a hit in cricket.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1889 – noun, a campaign.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1908 – noun, energy.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1963 – noun, a computer drive.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To push or press onward forcibly; to drive away; to [[propel]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To operate a vehicle; to convey or travel in a vehicle.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To supply the power that makes a machine work.^(AHD)

+ # To force into an action or state: ''drive someone mad''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To hit a ball hard.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A trip in a vehicle.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A road, especially a private road to a house.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The apparatus that transmits power to a machine; a [[disk drive]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # An organized campaign: ''a fund-raising drive''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Energy and determination; a strong [[instinct|alt=instinctive]] urge.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A forceful hit of a ball.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[drivability]]

+ * [[drivable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[drave]]

+ * [[drift]]

+ * [[drove]]

+ * [[driver]]

+ * [[driveway]]

+ * [[adrift]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}