weapon English · revision 4556

15 Oct 2026, 23:51 by bogdan “en10k b0165: calm … cable” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *wēpną}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈwep.ən/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|wepen]], [[inh|ang|wǣpen|t=instrument of fighting or defence, sword]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*wēpną]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) also the source of Old Frisian wēpin, Old Saxon wāpan, Dutch wapen, Old Norse vápn, German Waffe and Gothic wēpna “weapons”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It has no known cognates outside Germanic and may be a substratum word.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ An instrument used in fighting: about 725 in Barnhart, in Beowulf;^(Barnhart 1988) about 930 in the OED.^(OED 1989) In Old English it was also used figuratively of spiritual combat and for the penis.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ By about 1300 it was used of things not made as weapons but serving in a struggle,^(Etymonline) and an animal's claws, horns or teeth are called weapons from 1635.^(OED 1989) Down to the end of the 16th century the plural also meant weapons collectively.^(OED 1989) The verb, to arm, is also Old English.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) ''Weaponry'' is from 1844^(Barnhart 1988) and ''weapons-grade'', of material for nuclear bombs, by 1961.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 725 – instrument of fighting.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * c. 888 – figurative use.^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1300 – anything used in a struggle.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1635 – an animal's means of attack or defence.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1844 – ''weaponry''.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1961 – ''weapons-grade''.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # An instrument used to attack or defend in fighting, such as a [[gun]], [[sword]] or [[missile]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # A part of an animal, such as a claw or sting, used in attack or defence.^(AHD)
+ # Anything used to gain an advantage in a contest or struggle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[weaponed]]
+ * [[weaponeer]]
+ * [[weaponize]]
+ * [[weaponry]]
+ * [[wapentake]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}