cue English · revision 39775

+ English has two nouns spelled ''cue'' with different origins: a signal to an actor, which may come from the letter Q, and the billiard stick, a variant of [[queue]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kju/^(Wiktionary)

+ * UK: /kjuː/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|signal}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=1553}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is uncertain.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(ODE 2010) In the 16th and 17th centuries it was often written ''Q'' or ''q'', and writers of the time explained it as an abbreviation of a Latin word, [[la|quandō|t=when]] or [[m|la|quālis|t=of what kind]], marked in actors' copies of plays where they were to begin;^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Skeat 1911)^(Klein 1966) the OED notes that no evidence confirming this has been found.^(OED 2026) Merriam-Webster and the AHD accept the derivation as probable,^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024) and Etymonline traces the Latin adverb to [[ine-pro|*kʷo-]], the stem of relative and interrogative pronouns.^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) Another proposal takes it from [[fr|queue|t=tail]], as the tail end of the preceding speech,^(OED 2026)^(Partridge 1966) but the OED objects that French never used ''queue'' in this way, the cue being called [[m|fr|réplique]] there.^(OED 2026) Shakespeare's printed texts have both ''Q'' and ''cue''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The last words of a speech in a play, which signal another actor to enter or speak: 1553, written ''q'';^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) spelled out as ''quew'' in 1565.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already in 1565 the word was used figuratively for a hint or signal to speak or act,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and in 1567 it first meant a person's mood or frame of mind,^(OED 2026) a sense that lived on in northern English and Scots dialect ("in fine cue").^(Wright 1898) From 1581 it meant the part assigned to someone, the proper course to take.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it as the last words of a speech that the next player catches, and as a hint or intimation.^(Johnson 1755) It was transferred to music in 1880, for a direction that helps a player come in after a long rest,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and to film and broadcasting by 1932.^(OED 2026) Psychology took it in 1931 for a signal to perception or response.^(OED 2026) The verb, to give someone a cue, is recorded from 1928,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the television ''cue card'' by 1948.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1553 – an actor's signal, written ''q''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1565 – a hint or signal to act; spelled ''quew''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1567 – mood, humour.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1880 – (music) a direction to come in.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1928 – verb, to give a cue.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1931 – (psychology) a stimulus to response.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1948 – ''cue card''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A word, line or action in a performance that is the [[signal]] for an actor, musician or technician to do something: ''The drummer missed his cue.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A [[hint]] or signal that tells someone what to do or when;^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024) ''on cue'', at just the right moment.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (psychology) A feature of something perceived that triggers a particular response.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give a cue to; to [[prompt]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # To set a recording or a piece of equipment to play from a chosen point;^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) ''cue up''.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cue card]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|stick}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1731, Colley Cibber|origins=la cauda}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a variant spelling of [[queue]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(ODE 2010) [[bor|fr|queue|t=tail]], [[inh|fro|cue]], also [[m|fro|coe]],^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) [[inh|la|cōda]], a variant of [[m|la|cauda|t=tail]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(Partridge 1966)^(Dictionary.com 2016) The billiard cue was perhaps named after its narrow, leather-tipped end, the tail.^(AHD 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A long plait of hair worn hanging down behind, a pigtail: 1731, in an epilogue by Colley Cibber.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of the long tapering rod used to strike the ball in billiards is first recorded in 1749,^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and ''cue-ball'' by 1881.^(Etymonline) The verb meaning to twist hair into a cue is from 1774.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) gave as the first sense the tail or end of anything, "as the long curl of a wig".^(Johnson 1755) The humorous use for an animal's tail dates from 1862, in Lowell.^(OED 2026) The pigtail sense is now usually spelled ''queue'', which also took the meaning of a line of people waiting.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1731 – a pigtail.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1749 – a billiard cue.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1774 – verb, to twist hair into a cue.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1862 – (humorous) an animal's tail.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1881 – ''cue-ball''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long, tapering, leather-tipped rod used to strike the ball in [[billiards]], [[snooker]] and [[pool]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (dated) A [[queue]] or pigtail.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To strike a ball with a cue.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cue ball]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[queue]]

+ * [[coda]]

+ * [[coward]]

+ * [[caudal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}