mountain English · revision 3744

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1205|origins=la mōns}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈmaʊn.tɪn/, US /ˈmaʊn.tᵊn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|mountaine]],^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|montaigne]] (French montagne),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la-vul|*montānea|t=mountain, mountain region]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the noun use of the feminine of *montāneus “of a mountain”,^(Etymonline) from [[la|montānus|t=mountainous]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|mōns|t=mountain]] (genitive montis),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*men-|t=to project]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[mount]], [[amount]] and [[paramount]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A natural elevation of the earth rising to a great height: about 1205 in the OED,^(OED 1989) probably before 1200 in Layamon's ''Brut'' according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Until the 18th century it was used of fairly low elevations if they were prominent, such as the Sussex Downs or the hills around Paris.^(Etymonline) The adjective is from 1373 in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Used in the plural as the type of a remote region, it is from 1601.^(OED 1989) The proverb about the mountain and Muhammad comes from Francis Bacon, who told the story in 1625.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Mountains high'', of waves, is from 1719.^(OED 1989) [[mountaineer]] was a native of mountains in 1610, in Shakespeare's ''Tempest'',^(Barnhart 1988) and ''mountain dew'' was raw whisky by 1839.^(Etymonline) The mountain lion, the puma, is American from 1849.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1205 – a mountain.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1373 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1601 – a remote region.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1610 – ''mountaineer''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1625 – Bacon's story of Muhammad.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1839 – ''mountain dew''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1849 – ''mountain lion''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large natural elevation of the earth's surface, higher and steeper than a [[hill]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A large heap: ''a mountain of laundry''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A huge quantity: ''a mountain of debt''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mountainy]]

+ * [[mountainless]]

+ * [[mountaineer]]

+ * [[mountaineering]]

+ * [[submountain]]

+ * [[transmountain]]

+ * [[undermountain]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[amount]]

+ * [[dismount]]

+ * [[montane]]

+ * [[mount]]

+ * [[demount]]

+ * [[mountainous]]

+ * [[paramount]]

+ * [[surmount]]

+ * [[promontory]]

+ * [[eminent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}