chop English · revision 39793

+ Merriam-Webster, Barnhart and Ayto distinguish several words spelled ''chop'': the verb "to cut", a verb meaning "to barter" that survives in ''chop and change'', a noun meaning "jaw", and a word for a seal or stamp from Hindi.^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Ayto 2005)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /t͡ʃɒp/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /t͡ʃɑp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|cut}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|attested=1362, W. Langland, Piers Plowman}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb "to cut" is [[m|enm|choppen]], probably a variant of [[m|enm|chappen|t=to split, crack open]], the source of [[chap]];^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) it is not found in Old English.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026) The OED finds the evidence for which of the two forms came first inconclusive, and compares [[nl|kappen|t=to chop, cut, mince]], [[gml|kappen]] and [[da|kappe]] with the same meaning.^(OED 2026) Barnhart explains the change of vowel by comparison with [[strap]] and [[strop]],^(Barnhart 1988) and Klein sees an ablaut relation between ''choppen'' and ''chappen''.^(Klein 1966) Etymonline also suggests a possible source in [[fro|choper]], a variant of [[m|fro|coper|t=to cut]], the ancestor of [[m|fr|couper]].^(Etymonline) The noun comes from the verb.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To cut with a quick, heavy blow: 1362, in Langland's ''Piers Plowman'';^(OED 2026) the noun, a cutting blow, is first recorded in the same poem.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster gives the 14th century for both,^(MWU 2024) and Etymonline the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In early use the blow could be struck with a sword, but the verb came to be used of hewing tools such as the axe and cleaver.^(OED 2026) With adverbs such as ''off'', ''down'' and ''in pieces'' it is recorded from 1393, and the sense "to cut into small pieces, mince" from about 1400, in the alliterative ''Morte Arthure''.^(OED 2026) The noun meaning a piece cut off is recorded from about 1463,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and the slice of meat with a rib, usually mutton or pork, from before 1640, in Massinger;^(OED 2026) Etymonline suggests it was so named from being chopped from the loin.^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) defined the noun as a piece chopped off and a small piece of meat, commonly mutton.^(Johnson 1755) From the 16th century the verb also meant to thrust or move suddenly,^(OED 2026) and in cricket it meant to bring the bat down sharply on the ball from 1776.^(OED 2026) In Australia and New Zealand a ''chop'' is a wood-chopping contest (1926),^(OED 2026) and the slang phrase ''be in for one's chop'', to claim a share, dates from 1919.^(OED 2026) Collins records the informal British sense of dispensing with something or reducing it,^(Collins 2023) and Merriam-Webster ''the chop'', dismissal, as chiefly British.^(MWU 2024) In Leicestershire hay-making, to ''chop'' was to rake hay quickly into rows.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1362 – to cut with a heavy blow; a cutting blow.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1393 – with adverbs, to chop off, down, in pieces.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1400 – to cut into small pieces.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1463 – a piece chopped off.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1640 – a slice of meat with a rib.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1776 – (cricket) to bring the bat down sharply on the ball.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1865 – to utter in short, broken phrases.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1926 – (Australia, New Zealand) a wood-chopping contest.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cut something with a quick, heavy blow of an [[axe]], [[cleaver]] or similar tool, often with ''down'' or ''off'': ''They chopped down the old pear tree.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To cut into small pieces, often with ''up''; to [[mince]] or [[dice]]: ''Chop the onions finely.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (British, informal) To cut, reduce or get rid of something such as a job or a budget.^(Collins 2023)^(COED 2004)

+ # To strike with a short, sharp, downward blow, as in [[boxing]] or [[karate]]; in sport, to hit a ball sharply downward.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A cutting blow made with an axe or similar tool; a short, sharp blow with the side of the hand.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A thick slice of meat, usually [[pork]] or [[lamb]], cut with the [[rib]]: ''a lamb chop''.^(Collins 2023)^(COED 2004)

+ # ''the chop'' (chiefly British, informal): dismissal from a job, or the cancelling of something.^(MWU 2024)

+ # (Australia, New Zealand) A wood-chopping contest.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chopper]]

+ * [[chopping]]

+ * [[choppy]]

+ * [[chopping board]]

+ * [[chopping block]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|barter}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c1485, Digby Mysteries|origins=ang cēap}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb "to barter" is [[m|enm|choppen|t=to barter, bargain]], a variant of [[m|enm|chappen]],^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) which goes back through [[m|enm|chepen]], [[inh|ang|cēapian|t=to buy, trade]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) from [[m|ang|cēap|t=bargain, trade]], the source of [[cheap]].^(AHD 2024)^(Ayto 2005) Hoad thinks the form was influenced by [[chapman]].^(Hoad 1986) The OED is more cautious, calling the word of uncertain origin; it notes that the compound [[m|enm|choppe-churche]], a trader in church livings, implies the verb before 1400, and finds no reason to connect it with [[vls|kopen|t=to buy]] or [[non|kaupa]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To barter, to make an exchange: about 1485, in the Digby Mysteries, in the phrase ''to choppe and change'';^(OED 2026) Barnhart finds the gerund ''chopping'', bargaining, before 1438.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline dates the sense "to bargain" to the early 15th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the alliterative phrase ''chop and change'', the meaning moved from bartering to changing about, as the sense of ''chop'' faded;^(OED 2026) ''to change one's ways'' is recorded from about 1541.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) The idea of change then passed to ''chop'' alone, especially of the wind veering suddenly (before 1642), and figuratively of people turning with the wind (1657).^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) ''To chop logic'', to bandy arguments, is recorded from 1528, in Skelton.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The simple sense "to barter" survived in English dialect: in Lincolnshire a man might ''chop'' his grey mare for a blind horse, and the word was used of exchanging horses in Norfolk.^(Wright 1898) Merriam-Webster labels this sense dialectal in England.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1438 – ''chopping'', bargaining.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1485 – to barter, in ''chop and change''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1528 – ''chop logic'', to bandy arguments.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1541 – ''chop and change'', to change about.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1642 – of the wind, to change direction suddenly.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''chop and change'' (chiefly British): to keep changing one's mind, plans or methods.^(Collins 2023)^(Ayto 2005)

+ # Of the wind, to [[veer]] or change direction suddenly, usually with ''round'' or ''about''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''chop logic'': to argue in an overly fine or quibbling way.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ # (dialect) To [[barter]] or exchange: ''He chopped his old bike for a fishing rod.''^(MWU 2024)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chop logic]]

+

+ {{homograph|3|jaw}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|attested=?a1513, W. Dunbar, Flyting}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The jaw is a variant of [[chap]] in the same sense,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Ayto 2005) which is of unknown origin;^(Ayto 2005) the OED suggests the vowel changed through association with the other words in which the vowels ''a'' and ''o'' alternate.^(OED 2026) Barnhart thinks it is perhaps related to the verb "to cut".^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A jaw: before 1513, in William Dunbar's ''Flyting'',^(OED 2026) though Barnhart dates ''choppe'' "jaw" to about 1400, with an earlier form ''cheppe'' from 1373.^(Barnhart 1988) Hoad and Ayto date the word to the 15th century.^(Hoad 1986)^(Ayto 2005)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Usually in the plural, ''chops'' has meant the jaws or the sides of the face since 1615, and the mouth and its parts since 1589, often humorously or contemptuously.^(OED 2026) From 1636 it was applied to the mouth or entrance of a valley, channel or cannon, and the ''chops of the Channel'' is the western entrance to the English Channel (1692).^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) In jazz slang ''chops'' was first a trumpeter's lip strength (1937) and then a musician's technique (1968), and so skill in any field.^(OED 2026) In English dialect ''chops'' meant the jaws, cheeks or mouth, a bird's beak, and impudence.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1373 – ''cheppe'', jaw.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * ?a1513 – a jaw.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1589 – ''chops'', the mouth.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1636 – the mouth or entrance of a valley or channel.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1937 – ''chops'', a trumpeter's lip strength.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1968 – ''chops'', a musician's technical skill.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''chops'' (plural): the [[jaw|alt=jaws]], [[cheek|alt=cheeks]] or mouth of a person or animal: ''The dog sat licking its chops.''^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''chops'' (plural): the mouth or entrance of a [[channel]] or valley.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''chops'' (plural, informal): technical skill, especially a musician's.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ {{homograph|4|stamp}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1614, Milward, in Purchas's Pilgrimage|origins=hi छाप}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The seal or stamp is [[bor|hi|छाप|tr=chhāp|t=impression, print, stamp, brand]].^(OED 2026)^(Wiktionary)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) European traders carried the word to China, where it kept senses that had died out in India.^(OED 2026) Wiktionary notes that the related [[ms|cap]] probably reinforced its use in the Malay world.^(Wiktionary) Hobson-Jobson could not trace the Hindi word further back than the modern languages.^(Yule & Burnell 1903)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In India and China, a seal or its impression; an official stamp: 1614, in Purchas's ''Pilgrimage''.^(OED 2026) Merriam-Webster gives the same year.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the seal, the word passed to a document made valid by one, a licence or permit (1699, in Dampier),^(OED 2026) and in the China trade to a mark on goods showing their quality, and so to a brand or class of goods (1828).^(OED 2026) From this came the Anglo-Indian and colloquial ''first chop'' and ''second chop'', first-rate and second-rate (1823).^(OED 2026) In Australian and New Zealand slang ''not much chop'' means of little value (1909),^(OED 2026) and Green's Dictionary of Slang records ''chop'' as something valued from 1823 in Australia.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1614 – a seal or official stamp, in India and China.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1699 – a licence or permit made valid by a seal.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1823 – ''first chop'', first-rate.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1828 – a trademark on goods; a brand or quality.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1909 – (Australia, New Zealand) ''not much chop'', of little value.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # (historical, in India and the China trade) An official [[seal]] or [[stamp]], or a permit made valid by one.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A mark on goods showing their quality; a [[brand]] or grade: ''first-chop tea''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''not much chop'' (Australia, New Zealand, informal): not very good.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chap]]

+ * [[chip]]

+ * [[cheap]]

+ * [[chapman]]

+ * [[coupon]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}