park English · revision 3485

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1222 (in parkselver)|origins=gmw-pro *parruk}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|parc]], [[bor|fro|parc|t=enclosed wood or heath used as a game preserve]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-med|parricus|t=enclosure, park]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(COED 2004) probably from [[gmw-pro|*parruk|t=enclosed tract of land]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of [[m|ang|pearruc]], whence [[paddock]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) and of [[goh|pfarrih|t=fencing, enclosure]] and [[de|Pferch|t=sheepfold]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Cresswell 2021) Etymonline notes that the Germanic word is pre-4th-century and originally meant the fencing, not the place enclosed, and that some derive it the other way round, from the Medieval Latin.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster suggests a Vulgar Latin ''parricus'' perhaps from Latin [[m|la|pertica|t=pole, measuring rod]],^(MWU 2024) and Klein an Iberian *parra “trellis”.^(Klein 1966) The OED discounts a Celtic origin, since Welsh [[m|cy|parc]] and Gaelic pairc are from English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An enclosed tract of land held by royal grant for keeping game: in ''parkselver'', a fee paid for keeping such land, in 1222,^(Barnhart 1988)^(HTOED) and on its own about 1260^(OED 1989) or about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Word Origins notes that the word was originally a legal term for land held by royal grant for game, distinct from a [[forest]] or chase.^(Cresswell 2021) A large ornamental ground round a country house is from 1715.^(OED 1989) An enclosed lot in or near a town for public recreation is from the 1660s, first of London, where royal hunting parks were overrun by the growth of the city and opened to the public.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A national park is from 1841,^(OED 1989) and a sports field from 1867 in American English.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) An enclosure for military guns and wagons is from the 1680s, and the verb “to arrange military vehicles in a park” from 1812;^(Etymonline) “to put a vehicle in a certain place” is by 1844^(Etymonline) or 1864.^(OED 1989) The verb “to enclose in a park” is from 1526.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Park-and-ride'' is from 1966.^(Etymonline) In Scotland and northern England ''park'' means a field or paddock.^(Hoad 1986)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1222 – ''parkselver''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1260 – a game preserve.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1526 – verb, to enclose in a park.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660s – a public park.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1680s – a park of artillery.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1812 – verb, to arrange vehicles.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1844 – verb, to park a vehicle.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1867 – a sports field.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1966 – ''park-and-ride''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An area of land in or near a town kept for recreation and ornament.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A large area of land kept in its natural state for the public: ''a national park''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The grounds of a country house.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A sports field or stadium.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # An area for a specified purpose: ''an industrial park''; a [[car park]].^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put or leave a vehicle in a place for a time.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To place or leave temporarily.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To assemble [[artillery]] or equipment in a military park.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[parker]]

+ * [[parklike]]

+ * [[park-and-ride]]

+ * [[double-park]]

+ * [[overpark]]

+ * [[repark]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[paddock]]

+ * [[parquet]]

+ * [[parrock]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}