item English · revision 4378

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1398|origins=la item}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈaɪ.təm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was first an adverb, [[bor|la|item|t=likewise, just so, moreover]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) probably influenced by Old French item,^(Barnhart 1988) probably from ita “thus” and the adverbial ending -tem, compare id “it” and idem “the same”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[id]] and [[identity]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adverb, “likewise, also, moreover”, used to introduce each article in a list: 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(AHD 2000)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Because it stood before each article of an inventory or bill, it became a noun:^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(NODE 1998) a statement or maxim introduced by item from 1561,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and an article or unit in a list from 1578,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) the 1570s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Shakespeare's Olivia mocks this use in Twelfth Night, listing “item, two lips, indifferent red”.^(Cresswell 2021) A detail of news, especially in a newspaper, is from 1819.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In computing, a unit of data, it is from 1954.^(OED 1989) ''An item'', a couple romantically linked, is from 1970, perhaps from being an item in the gossip columns.^(Etymonline) The verb ''item'', to set down item by item, is from 1601 and was replaced by ''itemize'', from 1864.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1398 – adverb, likewise.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1561 – a maxim.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1578 – an article in a list.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1601 – verb.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1819 – a news item.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1864 – ''itemize''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1954 – in computing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1970 – a romantic couple.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A single article or unit in a collection, list or series.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An entry in an account or a clause of a document.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A piece of information; a short piece of news: ''a news item''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' A couple in a romantic relationship.^(AHD 2000)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(archaic)'' Also, likewise; used to introduce each article in a list.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[itemization]]

+ * [[itemize]]

+ * [[itemise]]

+ * [[subitem]]

+ * [[line item]]

+ * [[line-item veto]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[id]]

+ * [[identity]]

+ * [[iterate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}