storm English · revision 3997

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *sturmaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /stɔːm/, US /stɔːrm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|storm|t=tempest; onrush, attack; tumult]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*sturmaz|t=storm]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Norse stormr, Dutch storm and German Sturm.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline derives it from [[ine-pro|*twer-|alt=*(s)twer-|t=to turn, whirl]];^(Etymonline) Barnhart, Hoad and Merriam-Webster connect it with Old English styrian “to move”, the source of [[stir]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) Old French estour “onset, tumult” and Italian stormo “a fight” are Germanic loans.^(Etymonline) The verb is from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A violent disturbance of the atmosphere: about 725, in Beowulf, according to Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) about 825 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative senses, disturbance in civil, political or domestic life, begin in late Old English,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) as does “a hurled shower of objects”.^(Etymonline) A tumultuous onrush, as of tears, is from about 1600.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to rage, be violent”, of the wind, is from about 1400,^(Etymonline) 1380 in Chaucer's Boethius according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The military sense, “to attack and take a place by scaling walls and forcing gates”, is by the 1640s,^(Etymonline) and ''to take by storm'' from the 1680s.^(Etymonline) “To rush angrily” is by 1837, said to be from the military sense.^(Etymonline) ''A storm in a teacup'' has earlier forms from 1590.^(OED 1989) The ''storm window'' is attested from 1824,^(Etymonline) the ''storm door'' by 1872,^(Etymonline) and ''up a storm'' is American, from 1946.^(Etymonline) In Scotland a storm is also a snowstorm or a spell of hard frosty weather.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – a tempest.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late Old English – a disturbance, figuratively.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – verb, to rage.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – an onrush of feeling.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – to take by assault.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – to rush angrily.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1946 – ''up a storm''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A disturbance of the atmosphere with strong winds and rain, snow or other precipitation, often with thunder and lightning.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A wind of force 10 or 11 on the [[Beaufort scale]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A heavy shower of objects, as bullets.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A violent outburst: ''a storm of protest''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A violent military assault on a fortified place.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To blow forcefully, or rain or snow heavily.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To be very angry; to [[rage]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To move violently or angrily: ''stormed out''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To attack suddenly and forcefully.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stormlike]]

+ * [[hailstorm]]

+ * [[stormbound]]

+ * [[stormless]]

+ * [[stormproof]]

+ * [[stormy]]

+ * [[unstormed]]

+ * [[barnstorm]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stir]]

+ * [[stour]]

+ * [[sturdy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}