fun English · revision 3647

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=1685 (verb, to cheat)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fʌn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from a 17th-century verb meaning “to cheat, hoax”,^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) probably a dialect variant of Middle English [[m|enm|fonnen|t=to make a fool of, be foolish]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(COED 2004) from [[m|enm|fon|t=a fool]], a word of unknown origin and the source of [[fond]].^(COED 2004)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) Barnhart notes that the OED took ''fun'' for a dialect pronunciation of ''fon'', while others reject any connection.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The verb “to cheat, hoax” is from 1685,^(MWU 2024) and the noun “a trick, a hoax” from 1699^(HTOED) or about 1700.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “amusement” is found in Swift's ''Miscellanies'' (1727),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and Johnson in 1755 dismissed the word as “a low cant word”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) It was rarely recorded in the 18th century,^(Etymonline) but the old idea of a trick survives in ''make fun of'' (1737).^(Etymonline) ''Funny'' is from 1756,^(Barnhart 1988) “comical” in the mid-18th century and “strange” in the late 18th,^(Cresswell 2021) and the novelist Ian Hay coined ''funny ha-ha'' and ''funny peculiar'' in ''The Housemaster'' (1936).^(Cresswell 2021) The verb “to joke” is from 1833,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and the adjective “enjoyable” from 1846.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) ''Fun and games'' is from 1906.^(Etymonline) The attributive use, as in ''a fun time'', became popular in the 1950s and 1960s.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1685 – verb, to cheat.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1699 – noun, a hoax.^(HTOED)

+ * 1727 – amusement (Swift).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1737 – ''make fun of''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1755 – “a low cant word” (Johnson).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1756 – ''funny''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1833 – verb, to joke.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1906 – ''fun and games''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Enjoyment, amusement, light-hearted pleasure.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A source of enjoyment.^(AHD)

+ # Playful, often noisy activity.^(AHD)

+ # ''(in make fun of)'' Ridicule.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(informal)'' Enjoyable, amusing: ''a fun evening''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(informal)'' To joke or play.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[funster]]

+ * [[funny]]

+ * [[funplex]]

+ * [[funfair]]

+ * [[funfest]]

+ * [[fun and games]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fond]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary explains the adjective ''fun'' as a playful reanalysis of sentences such as ''it is fun to ski'', where ''fun'' behaves like an adjective; the use became popular in the 1950s and 1960s.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}