glue English · revision 39551

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1225|origins=ine-pro *gleit-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ɡluː/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ɡlu/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|glu]] (also [[m|enm|glew]]),^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|glu|t=glue, birdlime]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AND) from [[la-lat|glūs]] (stem [[m|la-lat|glūt-]]),^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) a post-classical form of [[la|glūten|t=glue, beeswax]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Ayto 2005) Etymonline and Klein trace the Latin noun to [[ine-pro|*gleit-|t=to glue, paste]], which also gave [[lt|glitùs|t=sticky, slippery]] and [[ang|clīþa|t=plaster]];^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Hoad, Collins and Dictionary.com compare [[grc|γλοιός|tr=gloiós|t=gum, anything sticky]],^(Hoad 1986)^(Collins 2023)^(Dictionary.com 2016) and Barnhart and Merriam-Webster connect the word with [[clay]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The verb is [[m|enm|glewen]], partly [[m|fro|gluer|t=to smear with glue]] and partly made from the noun.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) In Anglo-Norman the noun is recorded from the mid-12th century, for glue, gum and birdlime.^(AND)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A substance used to stick things together: 1225, as ''glu'', in Barnhart's dating;^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline gives the early 13th century.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The OED's first example is figurative, from the ''Ayenbite of Inwyt'' (1340), and Merriam-Webster dates the noun to the 14th century.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English ''glue'' was also [[birdlime]], the sticky paste smeared on twigs to catch birds (c. 1380–1704), as the French word still is.^(OED 2026)^(Weekley 1921)^(HTOED) The Wycliffite Bible (1382) used it for the pitch with which Noah's ark was sealed.^(OED 2026) The narrower sense, gelatin boiled from the hides, hooves and bones of animals, is found from about 1400,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and Johnson (1755) defined it in just these terms, deriving the word from French ''glu'', Latin ''gluten'' and Welsh ''glud''.^(Johnson 1755) From 1683 to 1802 ''glue'' was also the gum that oozes from the bark of fruit trees,^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) a sense still heard in Shropshire dialect around 1900 for the gum of plum and cherry trees.^(Wright 1898) The verb appears in Chaucer, figuratively in the ''House of Fame'' (c. 1384) and literally in the ''Squire's Tale'' (c. 1386).^(OED 2026) ''Glue-sniffing'' is recorded from 1962.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1225 – the noun, as ''glu''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1340 – figurative use.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1380 – birdlime (obsolete after 1704).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1382 – pitch, bitumen; also the verb, to smear with glue.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1384 – the verb, to fix firmly, in Chaucer.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1400 – gelatin glue made from animal hides and bones.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1683 – the gum of fruit trees (obsolete after 1802).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1885 – a stage in the making of soap.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1962 – ''glue-sniffing''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[adhesive]], especially a sticky [[gelatin]] made by boiling animal hides, bones and hooves, or a synthetic substance that does the same work.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Any sticky substance used to join things together.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To join or fasten with glue: ''He glued the broken handle back onto the jug.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To fix or hold closely, as if with glue: ''Her eyes stayed glued to the scoreboard.''^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # (intransitive) To stick together, or to admit of being fastened with glue.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gluey]]

+ * [[gluiness]]

+ * [[gluelike]]

+ * [[gluer]]

+ * [[gluepot]]

+ * [[gluon]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gluten]]

+ * [[glutinous]]

+ * [[agglutinate]]

+ * [[clay]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}