contain English · revision 4826

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la continere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|conteinen]], [[bor|fro|contenir]] (tonic stem contein-),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|continēre|t=to hold together, enclose]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) formed from [[con-]] “together” and tenēre “to hold”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*ten-|t=to stretch]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[content]], [[continent]] and [[tenant]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To restrain oneself or someone, to behave in a certain way: about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart, in Arthour and Merlin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Hoad dates the sense “keep within certain limits” to the 13th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “to have as a part” followed in the mid-14th century (1340 in the OED),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and “to have inside, enclose”, said of a vessel or space, in the late 14th century (1382 in the OED).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Of a measure, “to be equal to” is from 1387.^(OED 1989) In the 20th century it gained a military and political sense, to keep an enemy or a hostile power from spreading,^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) which ''containment'' (1655 in Barnhart) also took.^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – to restrain, behave.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1340 – to have as a part.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1382 – to have inside, hold.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1387 – to be equal to (a measure).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1443 – ''container''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To have or hold something inside.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To have as a part; [[include]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To keep (feelings) under [[control]]; to [[restrain]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To stop something harmful from spreading, or an enemy force from advancing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' To be exactly divisible by.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[containable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[container]]

+ * [[containment]]

+ * [[content]]

+ * [[continence]]

+ * [[continent]]

+ * [[tenant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}