pitch English · revision 5242
16 Oct 2026, 02:09 by bogdan “en10k b0196: pitch … horror” current version
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+ Pitch, the black sticky substance, and pitch, to throw or set up, are different words.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /pɪtʃ/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ {{homograph|1|tar}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=a. 700|origins=ine-pro *pik-}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The substance is [[inh|enm|pich]], [[inh|ang|pic]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) an early Germanic borrowing (compare Dutch pek and German Pech) of [[la|pix|t=pitch]], genitive picis,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-French piche and Old French poiz.^(Barnhart 1988) The Latin word is from [[ine-pro|*pik-|t=pitch]], the source also of Greek píssa and Lithuanian pìkis.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A sticky black or dark brown resin from tar or turpentine: before 700 in the OED.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It was a type of blackness from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and was applied, wrongly, to the sap of pine trees from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) ''Pitch-black'' is attested from the 1590s and ''pitch-dark'' from the 1680s.^(Etymonline) The verb, to cover with pitch, is from Old English pician.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * a. 700 – the resinous substance.^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1000 – verb, to coat with pitch.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * c. 1300 – a type of blackness.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1590s – ''pitch-black''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1680s – ''pitch-dark''.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A thick black sticky substance made from [[tar]] or petroleum, used for [[waterproofing]] and roads.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # A natural [[bitumen]], such as asphalt.^(AHD)
+ # [[resin]] from certain [[conifer|alt=conifers]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To cover or coat with pitch.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ {{homograph|2|throw, set up}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1200}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The verb is [[inh|enm|picchen|alt=pichen, picchen|t=to thrust, drive in]], past tense pighte,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) probably from an unrecorded Old English *piccean, perhaps related to Old English pīcung “pricking” and so to [[prick]] and [[pick]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) Its ultimate origin is unknown and the development of its senses unclear.^(Cresswell 2021)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ To thrust in or drive a stake, to pierce with a point: about 1200, senses now obsolete.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ To set up or erect, as in ''pitch a tent'', is from about 1250, from the idea of driving pegs into the ground.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) To throw or hurl evolved by the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) A ''pitched battle'' is one with the forces arranged beforehand, from the sense “to set in order”.^(Etymonline) A ship's plunging is from the 1620s, and to set the key of music from the 1630s.^(Etymonline) The noun followed the verb: a slope or degree in 1542, musical pitch in 1597,^(Barnhart 1988) and the place where the wickets are pitched in cricket in 1871.^(Etymonline) To throw a ball to the batter in baseball is from 1845,^(Barnhart 1988) and sales talk from 1876, probably from the pitch where a trader set up a stall,^(Barnhart 1988) while the modern ''sales pitch'' is from 1943.^(Etymonline) To ''pitch in'' is from 1847.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1200 – to thrust in.^(Etymonline)
+ * c. 1250 – to set up.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * late 14th century – to throw.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1597 – musical pitch.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1620s – of a ship.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1845 – in baseball.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1871 – a cricket pitch.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1876 – sales talk.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To throw something with force or aim.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # To set up a [[tent]] or camp.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # ''(baseball)'' To throw the ball to the batter.^(AHD)
+ # To set the level of something, such as a price or a musical note.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Of a ship or aircraft, to plunge up and down at the front and back.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # To try to sell or promote something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # The highness or lowness of a sound.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # ''(British)'' A field for [[football]], cricket or other games.^(Collins 2023)
+ # Talk meant to persuade or sell: ''a sales pitch''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Degree or level: ''a high pitch of excitement''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # A slope, especially of a roof.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[pitchfork]]
+ * [[pitch-black]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}