revolt English · revision 39948

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1540, T. Wyatt|origins=la revolvō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɹɪˈvoʊlt/^(Wiktionary)

+ * UK: /ɹɪˈvəʊlt/, /ɹɪˈvɒlt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[bor|frm|revolter|t=to turn; to rebel]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) [[der|it|rivoltare|t=to overthrow, turn round]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024) [[der|la-vul|*revolvitō|t=to overturn]], a frequentative of [[m|la|revolvō|t=to roll back, turn over]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)^(Ayto 2005) from which English also has [[revolve]] and [[revolution]].^(Ayto 2005) The OED instead calls the Italian verb an intensive formation of [[m|it|rivolgere|t=to turn again, turn back]].^(OED 2026) In French the verb is recorded from 1414, in the sense "to turn", and "to rebel" from 1502.^(OED 2026) The noun is [[bor|frm|revolte]], modern [[m|fr|révolte]], recorded in French from 1501,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) which Etymonline describes as a back-formation from the verb or else taken from [[m|it|rivolta]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The earliest English sense, now obsolete, was "to draw back from a duty or an undertaking": the OED's first example is in a letter of Sir Thomas Wyatt (1540).^(OED 2026) "To cast off allegiance, to rise against a ruler" followed in 1548, in Cooper's revision of Elyot's dictionary, Barnhart's first date for the verb.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline dates the verb to the 1540s,^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster to 1539.^(MWU 2024) The noun is recorded from 1553 in the OED and Merriam-Webster,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) the 1550s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and 1560 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Sixteenth-century ''revolt'' covered every kind of turning away: changing sides, going over to a rival, abandoning one's religion (1560–1845) and even departing from the truth.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Johnson's first sense of the noun was "desertion; change of sides".^(Johnson 1755) The sense of rising against authority became the main one.^(OED 2026) From about 1586 the noun was also used for any act of protest or defiance against established custom.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) From the late 17th century the verb developed the meaning of turning away in disgust: to rise in repugnance against something (1698), to feel disgust (1725), and to fill someone with disgust (1731).^(HTOED)^(Hoad 1986) French and Italian had developed similar senses earlier, Italian ''rivoltare'' "to cause disgust" by 1577 and French ''être révolté'' "to feel revulsion" by 1630.^(OED 2026) Weekley notes that the strong sense of ''revolting'', "disgusting", dates from about 1800,^(Weekley 1921) and Hoad dates it to the 19th century;^(Hoad 1986) Shakespeare had already used the noun once for revulsion of appetite, in ''Twelfth Night''.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1539 – first known use of the verb, according to Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1540 – verb, to draw back from a duty (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1548 – verb, to rise in rebellion; to cast off allegiance.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1553 – noun, an uprising, insurrection.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1560 – verb, to go over to another faith (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1586 – noun, an act of protest or defiance.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1602 – ''in revolt''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1725 – verb, to feel disgust.^(HTOED)

+ * 1731 – verb, to fill with disgust.^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An attempt by a group of people to overthrow or resist their [[ruler|alt=rulers]] or [[government]], often by force; a [[rebellion]] or [[uprising]]: ''The tax provoked a revolt in the northern provinces.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A refusal to accept or obey something; strong [[dissent]]: ''a revolt among the party's backbenchers''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''in revolt'': rebelling.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To rise against those in power; to [[rebel]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To refuse to accept or obey [[authority]] or established custom.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # To fill someone with [[disgust]]: ''The smell from the drains revolted the visitors.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To feel disgust; to turn away in [[revulsion]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[revolter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[revolting]]

+ * [[revolve]]

+ * [[revolution]]

+ * [[revolver]]

+ * [[vault]]

+ * [[voluble]]

+ * [[volume]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}