button English · revision 4432

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=gem-pro *buttan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbʌt.ən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|boton]],^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|fro|boton|t=a button; originally a bud]] (12th century, modern French bouton),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from bouter, boter “to thrust, strike, push”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) of Germanic origin,^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[gem-pro|*buttan]], from [[ine-pro|*bʰew-|alt=*bhau-|t=to strike]].^(Etymonline) Etymologically a button is something that pushes up or thrusts out.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[butt]] “to thrust” and [[buttress]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A knob or ball used to fasten parts of a garment: about 1300 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) before 1325 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1340 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The name Botouner “button-maker” is recorded from the mid-13th century,^(Etymonline) and Barnhart takes it as a sign that the usual sense existed at least fifty years before it is recorded.^(Barnhart 1988) As a type of something of little value, about 1320.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A bud or other button-shaped part of a plant is from about 1400.^(OED 1989) The knob on a fencing foil gave the verb “to fit with a button” (1615).^(OED 1989) The verb meant “to furnish with buttons” in the late 14th century and “to fasten with buttons” in the early 15th century;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''button up'', to close tightly, is from 1590, in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors.^(Barnhart 1988) A badge worn to show membership or support is from 1895,^(OED 1989) and a button pressed to close an electric circuit is attested from the 1840s.^(Etymonline) In boxing slang the point of the chin is the button by 1921,^(Etymonline) and ''button-down'' collars are from 1916.^(Etymonline) In Scotland and northern England, to have all one's buttons was to be of sound mind.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a fastener.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1320 – a thing of little value.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1380 – verb, to furnish with buttons.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – a bud.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1440 – verb, to fasten.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590 – ''button up''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1840s – a push button.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1895 – a badge.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1916 – ''button-down''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1921 – the point of the chin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A small disc or knob sewn to a garment to fasten it through a [[buttonhole]] or loop, or for decoration.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A small knob or disc that is pressed to work a machine or switch.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly US)'' A [[badge]] with a slogan or picture.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something small and round like a button, as a bud or a young mushroom.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' The point of the chin.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To fasten with buttons.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To furnish or decorate with buttons.^(AHD)

+ # ''button up'': to close tightly; to keep silent.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[buttoner]]

+ * [[buttony]]

+ * [[buttonless]]

+ * [[buttonlike]]

+ * [[bellybutton]]

+ * [[buttonball]]

+ * [[buttonbush]]

+ * [[buttonhole]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[butt]]

+ * [[buttress]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}