task English · revision 4144

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1300|origins=la taxare}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|taske]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) [[bor|fro-nor|tasque|t=duty, tax]] (Old French tasche, modern French tâche),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-vul|*tasca|t=a duty, assessment]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a metathesis of [[la-med|taxa]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) itself from [[la|taxāre|t=to evaluate, estimate, assess; to touch, feel]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) It is a doublet of [[tax]].^(Etymonline) German Tasche “pocket” is from the same Vulgar Latin word, through a sense chain from work imposed, to its payment, to the pocket for the money.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A piece of work imposed as a duty: before 1300 in the OED,^(OED 1989) before 1325 in Cursor Mundi according to Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The OED's first sense, now obsolete, is a fixed payment to a king or lord, a tax.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English it also meant a tax, about 1400,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a sense now obsolete but kept in ''to take to task'' (1680s).^(Etymonline) “Any piece of work that has to be done” is recorded by the 1590s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and a lesson set by a teacher from 1742.^(OED 1989) The verb first meant “to impose a tax on”, in the late 14th or early 15th century;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) “to assign a task to” is from 1530, in Palsgrave,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and “to burden, put a strain on” from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) ''Taskmaster'' is from 1530, in Tyndale's Bible,^(Barnhart 1988) and the ''task force'' is American, from 1941.^(Barnhart 1988) In Scotland a task was also a wraith or spirit of someone about to die.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1300 – a piece of work imposed.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – a tax.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – verb, to assign a task.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – any piece of work.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1680s – ''take to task''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1941 – ''task force''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A piece of work given to someone or done as part of a [[duty]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A difficult or tedious undertaking.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A function to be performed; an objective.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To assign a task to: ''was tasked with the review''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To overburden with work; to [[tax]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[taskless]]

+ * [[taskmistress]]

+ * [[taskwork]]

+ * [[multitasking]]

+ * [[subtask]]

+ * [[supertask]]

+ * [[taskmaster]]

+ * [[task force]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tax]]

+ * [[taxation]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage distinguishes task, a defined and often burdensome piece of work imposed by another, from job, chore, stint and assignment.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}