mount English · revision 5003

+ Mount, to climb, and mount, a mountain, are different words, though both come from Latin mōns “mountain”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /maʊnt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|climb}}

+

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|mounten]], [[bor|fro|monter|t=to go up, climb]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from Vulgar Latin *montāre,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from Latin mōns, montis “mountain”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[amount]], [[paramount]] and [[surmount]].^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To get up on a horse: about 1300 in Etymonline, and to go up, ascend, before 1300 in Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) To rise in amount, and to fly up, from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The transitive meaning “to set or place in position” is from the 1530s (1539 in Barnhart).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Of male animals, to get up on for mating, is from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) To set up guns for defence is by 1706,^(Etymonline) to prepare a play or exhibition for presentation by 1712,^(Etymonline) and ''to mount an attack'' by 1943.^(Etymonline) The noun, an act of mounting, is from the late 15th century (1486),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) a support on which something is fixed from 1739,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and a horse for riding by 1831 in sporting magazines.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) In Middle English the noun also meant an amount.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – to get on a horse.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – to rise, ascend.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1486 – noun, an act of mounting.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530s – to set in position.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1739 – noun, a support.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1831 – a horse for riding.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1943 – ''mount an attack''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To climb up something, or get on a horse or bicycle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To organize and begin something: ''mount a campaign''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To increase gradually: ''mounting debts''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To fix something in position, as on a wall or in a frame.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To put on a play or [[exhibition]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A support or frame on which something is fixed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A horse used for riding.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ {{homograph|2|mountain}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 893|origins=la mons}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|mount]], partly [[inh|ang|munt]] and partly [[bor|xno|mount|alt=mount, munt]] or Old French mont,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) both from [[la|mōns|t=mountain]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*men-|t=to stand out, project]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[mountain]], [[eminent]] and [[promontory]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A mountain or lofty hill: about 893 in the OED.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 17th century it was used in prose chiefly of a fairly low conical hill rising from a plain,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and by the late 19th century it was archaic or poetic except in proper names, such as Mount Everest.^(Etymonline)^(AHD) An earthwork for defence is from 1558, and an artificial mound from 1591.^(OED 1989) The Sermon on the Mount is in Matthew 5–7.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 893 – a mountain.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1558 – an earthwork.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1591 – a mound.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(archaic, or in names)'' A [[mountain]] or high hill: ''Mount Etna''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[amount]]

+ * [[mountain]]

+ * [[paramount]]

+ * [[surmount]]

+ * [[promontory]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}