tower English · revision 4788

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 897|origins=la turris}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈtaʊ.ər/, US /ˈtaʊ.ɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|tour]], tur, [[inh|ang|torr]], reinforced by Old French [[m|fro|tur]] and tour,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) all from [[la|turris|t=tower, citadel]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which, like Greek týrris, týrsis, was perhaps borrowed from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean language.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The spelling with -w- appears about 1400 (towr, 1382), probably a blend of tur and tour.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A building lofty in proportion to its base: about 897 in the OED and about 899 in Barnhart, in Alfred's Pastoral Care.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) It was often a fortress or prison, and the Tower of London was “the Tower” by 1100.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the mid-14th century it was used of any lofty pile or mass.^(Etymonline) The figurative ''tower of strength'' comes from the Book of Common Prayer, where it meant a strong tower.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to rise high, is from about 1400 in Etymonline and the OED,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) while Barnhart has 1582.^(Barnhart 1988) Of hawks, to fly high before swooping, is from the 1590s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Old English had a verb torrian “to stand high”.^(Etymonline) A railway signal-box was a tower in the United States from 1900.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 897 – a tall building.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1100 – a stronghold or prison.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – verb, to rise high.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1593 – of a hawk, to mount up.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A tall narrow [[building]], or a tall part of a building such as a [[church]] or [[castle]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A tall structure used for [[observation]], signalling or carrying cables.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[fortress]] or prison built in this form.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''tower of strength'': a person who gives strong support.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be much taller than the things around; to [[loom]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To be much better or more important than others.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[towered]]

+ * [[towerlike]]

+ * [[towerless]]

+ * [[supertower]]

+ * [[towery]]

+ * [[minitower]]

+ * [[towerman]]

+ * [[tower-mill]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[turret]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different tower, rhyming with “lower”, is one who tows, an agent noun from [[tow]] (1494 in the OED).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}