inner English · revision 4823

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=ang inne}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|inner]], inre,^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|innera]], inra,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) the comparative of inne “inside”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[in]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Old High German innaro (German innere) and Old Norse innri are similar formations.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Situated further in, of position in space: about 1000 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Etymonline dates it from about 1400.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original order of comparison was in, inner, [[inmost]], but inner has not been used with “than” since Middle English.^(Etymonline) The figurative senses, more intimate, central or secret, are from 1480.^(OED 1989) ''Inner man'', the soul, is late Old English, and the spiritual side of a person by the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The Quaker ''inner light'' is from 1833 in Etymonline, 1856 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) An ''inner city'' is attested from the 1690s, and as a euphemism for urban poverty and crime from 1963.^(Etymonline) The ''inner tube'' of a tyre is from 1894.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – further inside.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1480 – more intimate, more central.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1690s – ''inner city''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1833 – ''inner light''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1894 – ''inner tube''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Further [[inside]] or closer to the centre.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Relating to the [[mind]] or [[spirit]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Less obvious; deeper: ''the inner meaning''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # More private, [[exclusive]] or powerful: ''the inner circle''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[innerly]]

+ * [[innerness]]

+ * [[inner-directed]]

+ * [[innersole]]

+ * [[innerspring]]

+ * [[innerwear]]

+ * [[inner automorphism]]

+ * [[inner bar]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[in]]

+ * [[inmost]]

+ * [[innermost]]

+ * [[utter]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}