harm English · revision 5006

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *harmaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /hɑːm/, US /hɑːrm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|harm]], [[inh|ang|hearm|t=hurt, pain; evil, grief; insult]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*harmaz]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Old Norse harmr “grief, sorrow” and German Harm “grief”.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It is from [[ine-pro|*ḱormos|alt=*kormo-|t=pain]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and perhaps related to Old Church Slavonic sramŭ “shame” and Persian šarm “shame”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Hurt, pain, evil, grief and insult: about 725 in Barnhart, in Beowulf;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) an injury or loss before 1000 in the OED, and grief or sorrow before 1000.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of grief or sorrow, strong in the other Germanic languages, faded in English, leaving evil or injury done or suffered.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) ''Out of harm's way'' is from before 1661, the 1660s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb, Old English hearmian “to hurt”, is from about 1000,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and has replaced Old English sceþþan, the source of [[scathe]], in all but a few senses.^(Etymonline) ''Harmless'' is from about 1280 and ''harmful'' from 1340.^(Barnhart 1988) In Gloucestershire and Somerset dialect a harm was any contagious disease.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – hurt, grief.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – verb, to hurt.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1280 – ''harmless''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1340 – ''harmful''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1661 – ''out of harm's way''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Physical or mental [[injury]] or [[damage]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something bad or wrong.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To hurt or damage someone or something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[harmer]]

+ * [[harmful]]

+ * [[harmless]]

+ * [[unharmed]]

+ * [[harm's way]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[scathe]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}