lateral English · revision 39853

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=?a1425, translation of Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie|origins=la latus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈlæt(ə)ɹəl/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈlætəɹəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|laterālis|t=of or on the side of the body]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) partly through [[m|frm|latéral]], recorded in French from 1315.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) The Latin adjective was formed from [[m|la|latus|t=side, flank]] with the suffix that became [[-al]].^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) The noun ''latus'' is of unknown origin according to the OED,^(OED 2026) and Etymonline quotes de Vaan's verdict that no good etymology is available;^(Etymonline) Klein and Merriam-Webster think it probably related to [[m|la|lātus|t=broad, wide]], the source of [[latitude]].^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of or at the side: probably before 1425, in an English translation of Guy de Chauliac's ''Grande Chirurgie'', already with reference to the sides of the body;^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster to the 15th century.^(MWU 2024) Dictionary.com dates the word only to 1590–1600.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general sense "of or towards the side" spread into many technical fields: in mechanics, of forces acting at right angles to a line of motion (1599);^(OED 2026) in botany, of buds and branches growing from the side of a stem (1665, in Hooke's ''Micrographia'');^(OED 2026) in crystallography (1816) and in phonetics, of a sound such as ''l'' made with the breath passing at the sides of the tongue (1867).^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023) Johnson (1755) defined it as growing out on the side or belonging to the side, citing branches and blood vessels.^(Johnson 1755) The anatomical sense of lying on either side of the median plane of the body is dated by Etymonline to 1722.^(Etymonline) A sense "existing or moving side by side", used especially of winds from the same quarter, appears in Chapman's Homer (1598) and is now rare.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) The noun, a side part or branch, is recorded from 1635,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) though Merriam-Webster dates it to 1578.^(MWU 2024) In American football the ''lateral pass'' gave a noun (1934 in Etymonline) and a verb, to make such a pass (1930).^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) Two 20th-century figurative uses followed: a ''lateral'' move in employment, to a post of equal rank (1941),^(OED 2026) and ''lateral thinking'', solving problems by indirect and creative means (1969).^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * ?a1425 – of or at the side, in a translation of Guy de Chauliac.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1578 – the noun, in Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1598 – side by side, of winds.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1599 – (mechanics) acting at right angles to a line of motion.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1635 – the noun, a side part.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1665 – (botany) growing from the side of a stem.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1867 – (phonetics) of a sound such as ''l''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1930 – the verb, to make a lateral pass.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1941 – of a sideways move between jobs of equal level.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1969 – relating to lateral thinking.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of, at, towards or coming from the [[side]]: ''The bridge was damaged by lateral forces during the storm.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # (anatomy) Situated away from the middle line of the body or of an [[organ]].^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (phonetics) Of a [[consonant]] such as ''l'': made with the air passing over one or both sides of the [[tongue]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # Of a move to another job: at the same level of [[seniority]].^(OED 2026)

+ # Relating to [[lateral thinking]]; approaching a problem from an unexpected angle.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A side part, such as a side [[branch]] of a plant or a side channel of a [[pipe]] or [[drain]] system.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (phonetics) A lateral consonant.^(Collins 2023)

+ # (American football) A [[lateral pass]].^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # (American football) To throw a lateral pass; to throw the ball sideways or backwards.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[laterally]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[latitude]]

+ * [[collateral]]

+ * [[bilateral]]

+ * [[unilateral]]

+ * [[equilateral]]

+ * [[multilateral]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}