study English · revision 3598

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la studium}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈstʌd.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|studie]], [[bor|fro|estudie|t=care, attention, study]] (modern French [[m|fr|étude]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) a learned borrowing from [[la|studium|t=zeal, eagerness, application]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) related to [[m|la|studēre|t=to be eager, be diligent, study]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The verb is from [[m|fro|estudier]], from [[la-med|studiāre]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) The English forms lost the initial e- of the French by aphesis.^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) Barnhart suggests that ''studēre'' first meant “to strike toward”, and relates it to [[m|la|tundere|t=to beat]] and Sanskrit tudáti, “he pounds”;^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*(s)teu-|t=to push, knock, beat]], with the notion of pressing forward and striving.^(Etymonline) It is a doublet of [[étude]] and [[studio]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The pursuit of knowledge, the effort to learn: about 1300,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in the same years a room for study, about 1303 in Mannyng's ''Handlyng Synne''.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline finds the verb, “to strive toward, devote oneself to”, in the early 12th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English ''study'' also meant a state of mental perplexity, from about 1290,^(OED 1989) and a state of reverie, a sense that survives only in ''brown study''.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) Like Latin ''studium'', it meant eagerness or zeal from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and an employment or pursuit in translations from Latin from about 1374.^(OED 1989) Careful scrutiny is from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) The verb “to think intently, meditate” is from 1340,^(OED 1989) “to apply the mind to learning” from about 1300,^(OED 1989) and “to be a student at a university” from about 1450.^(OED 1989) A branch of learning is a ''study'' from 1477.^(Barnhart 1988)^(HTOED) A piece of writing on a particular subject is from 1866,^(Barnhart 1988) and in art a ''study'' is a preliminary sketch.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 12th century – verb, to strive toward.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1290 – a state of perplexity.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1300 – the pursuit of knowledge.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1303 – a room for study.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1340 – verb, to meditate.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1450 – verb, to study at a university.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1477 – a branch of learning.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1866 – a written study of a subject.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or process of studying; the pursuit of knowledge.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Close [[scrutiny]] or examination.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A branch of knowledge or learning.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # A work such as a [[thesis]], or a piece of writing on a particular subject.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # A preliminary sketch for a work of art.^(AHD)

+ # ''(music)'' A piece written to give practice in a point of technique; an [[étude]].^(AHD)

+ # A room for reading and writing.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # ''(brown study)'' A state of deep thought.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To apply the mind to learning a subject.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To read carefully; to learn by heart.^(AHD)

+ # To take a course at a school or university.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To investigate or examine closely.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To [[ponder]] or reflect.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[studier]]

+ * [[studiable]]

+ * [[outstudy]]

+ * [[overstudy]]

+ * [[prestudy]]

+ * [[restudy]]

+ * [[self-study]]

+ * [[nonstudy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[student]]

+ * [[studious]]

+ * [[studio]]

+ * [[étude]]

+ * [[stupid]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The English Dialect Dictionary records ''study'' for “to think, ponder, consider” in the north of England, from Durham and Yorkshire to Lancashire and Lincolnshire.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}