steel English · revision 3849

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=gem-pro *stahliją}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stiːl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|stele]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|stȳle]] (Mercian stēle),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from the noun use of [[gem-pro|*stahliją|t=made of steel]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which is also the source of Old Saxon stehli.^(Barnhart 1988) The related noun *stahla- gave Middle Low German stāl, Dutch staal, Old High German stahal (German Stahl) and Old Norse stál.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is said to come from *stahla- “standing fast”, from [[ine-pro|*stek-lo-]], from [[ine-pro|*stak-|t=to stand, place, be firm]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) perhaps as that which stands firm;^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster compares Sanskrit stakati “resists”.^(MWU 2024) No corresponding word exists outside Germanic except as borrowings.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[stay]] “to stand”.^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Artificially hardened iron: about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Steel was not found in nature but was known in ancient times.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Steel as weapons or cutting tools, a sword, is from before 1000.^(OED 1989) It has been figurative of hardness at least since about 1200,^(Etymonline) as in ''true as steel'' from before 1300.^(OED 1989) The adjective is from about 1200.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to make hard or strong like steel”, is from the 1580s, and its earliest use is figurative, as in ''to steel oneself'';^(Etymonline) the New Oxford dates it to the late 16th century.^(NODE 1998) A particular variety of steel is from 1839,^(OED 1989) and a cold grey colour from 1851.^(OED 1989) ''Steel wool'' is from 1896,^(Etymonline) and the West Indian ''steel drum'' from 1952.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – steel, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1000 – a weapon.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – figurative hardness.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – verb, to steel oneself.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1851 – steel grey.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1896 – ''steel wool''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1952 – ''steel drum''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hard, strong [[alloy]] of [[iron]] and carbon.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something made of steel, especially a sword or other weapon.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Great strength or hardness: ''nerves of steel''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made of steel; hard and strong like steel.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of the grey colour of steel.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover, edge or point with steel.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To make hard or determined: ''to steel oneself''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[steellike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stay]]

+ * [[steelyard]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scots and Northumbrian a ''steel'' was a ridge or tongue of land, or a precipice.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}