viewer English · revision 39728

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1415|origins=en view}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈvjuːə/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈvju.ɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed [[af|en|view|-er]] in English,^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) partly from the noun and, in later use, from the verb.^(OED 2026) The OED compares the early official sense with [[xno|veour|t=inspector, surveyor]], used since the 13th century.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person appointed to inspect or examine something, especially one appointed by a court or a town to survey property: 1415, in a London document,^(OED 2026) early 15th century in Etymonline, spelled ''veuer''.^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general senses followed: a person who sees or catches sight of something (1565) and one who looks at something closely or sets out to see it (1572).^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Johnson (1773) simply defined it as one who views.^(Johnson 1755) In the coal mines of northern England, from 1708, the ''viewer'' was the manager of a colliery,^(OED 2026) and the English Dialect Dictionary records this sense in Northumberland, Durham and Staffordshire, where the viewer ranked above the ''under-viewer'' and the ''overman''.^(Wright 1898) The word was applied to someone watching a film or moving images in 1914,^(OED 2026) and the television audience took it over around 1930, replacing the earlier ''looker-in'' (1927) and ''watcher-in'' (1928).^(Etymonline) From 1934 it also named an optical device for looking at images, especially microfilm or slides.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1415 – an official inspector of property.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1565 – one who sees something; a spectator.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1708 – the manager of a coal mine.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1914 – a person who watches films.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1930 – a television viewer.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1934 – a device for viewing images.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who looks at or watches something, especially a [[television]] programme or video: ''The final episode drew millions of viewers.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A device for looking at photographic [[slide|alt=slides]], [[microfilm]] or other images.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(historical)'' A person appointed to inspect something, such as property or roads.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(historical)'' The manager of a [[colliery]].^(OED 2026)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nonviewer]]

+ * [[viewership]]

+ * [[underviewer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[view]]

+ * [[review]]

+ * [[interview]]

+ * [[spectator]]

+ * [[watcher]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}