field English · revision 3588

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Old English feld)|origins=gmw-pro *felþu}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fiːld/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|feld]], [[inh|ang|feld|t=plain, pasture, open land]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[gmw-pro|*felþu]],^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) or Proto-Germanic [[m|gem-pro|*felþuz]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Its cognates are found in West Germanic: [[osx|feld]], [[ofs|feld]], [[nl|veld]] and [[de|Feld]];^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline notes that [[sv|fält]] and [[da|felt]] were borrowed from German, and that Finnish [[m|fi|pelto|t=field]] is believed to come from Germanic.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is probably related to Old English [[m|ang|folde|t=earth, land]] and [[non|fold|t=earth]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Klein and the AHD trace it to [[ine-pro|*pelə-|t=flat; to spread]], the root also of Latin [[m|la|plānus|t=flat, level]].^(Klein 1966)^(AHD 2000) It is related to [[veld]] and [[plain]].^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Open land, a plain, as opposed to woodland: Old English ''feld'', about 725;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a piece of land marked off for pasture or tillage from about 1025.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The battlefield is a ''field'' in Old English,^(Etymonline) and Hoad dates the sense “ground on which a battle is fought” to the 13th century.^(Hoad 1986) The country as opposed to a town is from about 1400.^(OED 1989) An area of study or activity is from 1340,^(HTOED) and a large expanse of something, as of ice, from 1547.^(HTOED) The background of a painting or a coat of arms is a ''field'' from 1555.^(HTOED) The players or competitors in a contest are ''the field'', and in betting all horses except the favourite.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989) In physics, a region in which a force acts is a later sense.^(AHD) The verb meant “to go out to fight” in the 16th century,^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) and in cricket “to stop and return the ball” by 1823,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) with the figurative sense “to deal with questions” from 1902.^(Etymonline) “To put a team into the field” is from the early 20th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''feld'', open land.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1025 – land for pasture or tillage.^(OED 1989)

+ * 13th century – a battlefield.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1340 – an area of activity or study.^(HTOED)

+ * c. 1400 – the country, as opposed to a town.^(OED 1989)

+ * 16th century – verb, to take the field.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1555 – the ground of a painting.^(HTOED)

+ * 1823 – verb, to field the ball.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1902 – verb, to deal with questions.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A broad, level, open stretch of land; a [[meadow]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A piece of land under cultivation, often for a particular crop.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # An area with a natural resource: ''an oil field''.^(AHD)

+ # A wide expanse, as of ice.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # A [[battlefield]], or a battle.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+ # An area of human activity or knowledge.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # A place of practical work away from a laboratory or office: ''field research''.^(AHD)

+ # The area where a sport is played.^(AHD)

+ # All the competitors in a contest.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(physics)'' A region in which a force such as [[gravity]] or [[magnetism]] acts.^(AHD)

+ # The background of a painting, flag or coat of arms.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To catch or stop a ball and return it.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To put a team or player into play or competition.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To answer questions, especially unprepared.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[misfield]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[veld]]

+ * [[plain]]

+ * [[floor]]

+ * [[feldspar]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary compares ''field'' with ''bailiwick'', ''domain'', ''province'', ''realm'', ''sphere'' and ''territory'', all meaning an area of activity or interest.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}