cost English · revision 3593

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la cōnstāre}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The noun is [[inh|enm|cost]], [[bor|fro|cost|t=cost, outlay; hardship]] (also [[m|fro|coust]], modern [[m|fr|coût]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from the verb [[m|fro|coster|t=to cost]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) which comes from [[la|cōnstāre|t=to stand together, stand firm, be fixed; to stand at a price]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) through a Romance form [[m|la-vul|*costāre]].^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) Latin ''cōnstāre'' is formed from [[m|la|con-|t=together]] and [[m|la|stāre|t=to stand]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) which Etymonline traces to [[ine-pro|*sta-|t=to stand, be firm]].^(Etymonline) Etymonline compares the modern idiom of a thing that “stands at” a price.^(Etymonline) The English verb is [[inh|enm|costen]], from Old French ''coster''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Barnhart notes that the word spread through the Romance languages (Spanish [[m|es|costar]], Italian [[m|it|costare]]) and was widely borrowed into Germanic, Slavic and Celtic.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) It is related to [[constant]], [[stand]] and [[state]].^(Klein 1966)^(AHD 2000)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Price, value: about 1200,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) or before 1300 according to the OED, for what must be given to obtain something.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “outlay of money, expenditure” is from about 1300^(Etymonline) or 1386.^(OED 1989) Expenses of litigation have been ''costs'' since 1340,^(OED 1989)^(HTOED) and expenditure of time or labour, or what is lost in gaining something, is from about 1300.^(OED 1989) ''At one's cost'' is from 1297.^(OED 1989) The verb meant “to buy” in ''Cursor Mundi'',^(Barnhart 1988) and “to involve great expenditure” about 1378, in a version of ''Piers Plowman'';^(Barnhart 1988) “to be the price of” is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) “To cause to lose or suffer”, with a personal object, is from 1377.^(OED 1989) ''Cost the earth'' and ''cost money'' are from 1667.^(OED 1989) The original price of a thing (''at cost'') is from 1873,^(OED 1989) and ''cost of living'' from 1896.^(OED 1989) The verb “to estimate the cost of”, with the past tense ''costed'', is a later development.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – price, value.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1297 – ''at one's cost''.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – expenditure of time or labour.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1340 – legal costs.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1377 – verb, to cause to lose.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1378 – verb, to involve great expense (''Piers Plowman'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1667 – ''cost the earth''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1873 – ''at cost''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1896 – ''cost of living''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An amount paid or required for something; a [[price]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The time, effort or loss needed to achieve something.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(costs)'' ''(law)'' The expenses of a lawsuit, often paid by the losing party.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To have as a price.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To cause to lose or suffer: ''it cost him his job''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To estimate the cost of; past tense ''costed''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[costless]]

+ * [[costlessness]]

+ * [[costlessly]]

+ * [[cost-benefit]]

+ * [[cost-effective]]

+ * [[cost-efficient]]

+ * [[costly]]

+ * [[cost-push]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[constant]]

+ * [[stand]]

+ * [[state]]

+ * [[coast]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Two rare words share the spelling: ''cost'', the herb [[costmary]], from Latin ''costum'' and Greek ''kóstos'',^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989) and ''cost'' in heraldry, a narrow band, from Old French ''coste'', “rib”.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}