inland English · revision 39428

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=Old English}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɪnlənd/, /ˈɪnlænd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|inland]], [[inh|ang|inland]],^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) formed [[af|ang|in|land]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Old English and in feudal tenure, the land around a lord's house that he kept for his own use rather than letting to tenants, the [[demesne]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The old sense of the lord's own land lasted in historical use until the 19th century.^(OED 2026) In Scotland the word meant infield, the cultivated land nearest the farm (1473),^(OED 2026) and in North Yorkshire dialect enclosed, tilled land as opposed to common or waste.^(Wright 1898) The modern meanings arose in the 16th century: of trade or business within a country, as opposed to foreign (1546),^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and the interior of a country, away from the sea or the borders (1557 as an adjective, 1573 as a noun).^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Shakespeare used ''inland'' of a person brought up in the civilised heart of the country, and so refined, a sense that did not survive him.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it as interior, remote from the sea.^(Johnson 1755) The British ''Inland Revenue'' keeps the sense "domestic".^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Old English – the lord's own land around his house.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1473 – Scots: infield land.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1546 – carried on within a country, not foreign.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1557 – adjective: in the interior of a country.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1573 – noun: the interior of a country.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * a1616 – adverb: towards the interior, in Shakespeare.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Situated in the interior of a country or region, away from the [[coast]] or [[border]].^(Collins 2023)^(AHD 2024)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' Operating within a country; [[domestic]], not foreign.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Towards or into the interior of a country: ''the road turns inland after the harbour''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The interior part of a country or region.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[inlander]]

+ * [[inland sea]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}