upset English · revision 4345

15 Oct 2026, 22:33 by bogdan “en10k b0145 (unable … bomb)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1200}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ʌpˈset/ (verb, adjective), /ˈʌp.set/ (noun)^(Roach et al. 2011)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is a Middle English compound, upsetten, of [[up]] and [[set]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) with a similar formation in Middle Dutch opsetten “to set up, propose” and German aufsetzen.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ “To raise up, set up”: about 1200 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) about 1440 in the OED, which records the verb mainly in the past participle before then.^(OED 1989) The past participle adjective, “erected”, is from the early 14th century.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The early senses, “to set up, raise, erect” and “to establish”, are now obsolete.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In the 14th century the noun meant an insurrection, in Scotland, from about 1425,^(OED 1989) and in the north the setting up in business as a master, from 1463–4.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In smithing, to upset is to thicken a heated bar by hammering on its end, from 1677.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) The sense “to overturn, capsize”, from 1803, took over from the obsolete overset.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense “to throw into mental discomposure” is from 1805,^(Etymonline) and of the stomach from 1834.^(Etymonline) The noun, the overturning of a vehicle or boat, is from 1804,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and a mental disturbance from 1866.^(Etymonline) An unexpected defeat in a contest is in Merriam-Webster as a later sense.^(MW Collegiate) In dialect it also meant to knock down, in Surrey, and to scold or put out of temper, in Berkshire, Norfolk and Kent.^(Wright 1898)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1200 – to set up.^(Etymonline)
+ * c. 1425 – noun, an insurrection.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1463–4 – setting up in business.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1677 – to thicken metal by hammering.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1803 – to overturn.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1804 – noun, an overturning.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)
+ * 1805 – to distress; adjective, distressed.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1834 – of the stomach.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1866 – noun, a mental disturbance.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To tip or turn over; to [[capsize]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # To disturb the order or course of: ''upset the schedule''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # To distress or [[disturb]] emotionally.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # To make physically ill: ''the food upset my stomach''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # To defeat (a favoured opponent) unexpectedly.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # To thicken and shorten (a heated metal bar) by hammering on the end.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ===Noun===
+ # An unexpected defeat.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # A disturbance or [[disorder]], as of the stomach.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # An emotional disturbance.^(MW Collegiate)
+ 
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Emotionally disturbed or [[distressed]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # Overturned; in disorder.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[upsetter]]
+ * [[upsettingly]]
+ * [[upsettable]]
+ * [[unupset]]
+ * [[upset price]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[set]]
+ * [[setup]]
+ * [[overset]]
+ * [[upsetting]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}