chest English · revision 4716

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 700|origins=grc κίστη}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tʃest/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cheste]], [[inh|ang|ċest|alt=ċest, ċist|t=box, coffer, casket]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) an early Germanic borrowing ([[gem-pro|*kistō]])^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|cista|t=box, basket]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[grc|κίστη|tr=kístē|t=box, basket]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from PIE *kistā “woven container”, also the source of Old Irish cess “basket”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The same Latin word gave Old Norse and Old High German kista and Dutch kist.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[cistern]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A box or coffer: about 700 in the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) A coffin is also Old English (about 890), and is still used in dialect;^(OED 1989)^(Wright 1898) Trench quotes the Bible's “he dieth, and is chested” of Joseph.^(Trench 1859)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The part of the body enclosed by the ribs is recorded from about 1400 in Etymonline and 1530 in Barnhart, in Palsgrave,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) with figurative uses as early as Chaucer (1385);^(Barnhart 1988) the image is of the ribs as a box for the heart and lungs.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) It replaced [[breast]] in this sense.^(Etymonline) The common chest, where public money was kept (mid-15th century), gave “public funds” in the 1580s.^(Etymonline) A sailor's chest is from 1615, a ''chest of drawers'' from the 1670s,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a large case for tea or other goods from 1708.^(OED 1989) The verb, to put in a coffin, is from 1473.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 700 – a box.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 890 – a coffin.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – the thorax.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1473 – verb, to put in a coffin.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530 – the thorax, in Palsgrave.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1580s – public funds.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1670s – ''chest of drawers''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1708 – a case for goods such as tea.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The front of the body between the neck and the stomach, enclosed by the [[rib]]s; the [[thorax]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A large strong box with a lid, used for storing things.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A box for keeping money, or the money of an organization.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[chest of drawers]].^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chested]]

+ * [[chestful]]

+ * [[windchest]]

+ * [[chesty]]

+ * [[chest-thumping]]

+ * [[blanket chest]]

+ * [[Hadley chest]]

+ * [[chest of drawers]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cistern]]

+ * [[cist]]

+ * [[breast]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different Old English word, chest or chease, meaning strife or quarrelling, is now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}