naked English · revision 5243

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|naked]], [[inh|ang|nacod]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*nakwadaz]], the source also of Dutch naakt, German nackt and Gothic naqaþs,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*nogw-|t=naked]], the source also of Latin nūdus, Sanskrit nagná- and Greek gymnós.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[nude]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Unclothed, nude: about 850 in the OED, about 725 in Beowulf according to Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) Old English nacod could also mean “not fully clothed”, a sense still used in the 18th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “blatant, unashamed”, as in ''naked ambition'', dates from the 13th century,^(Cresswell 2021) and ''the naked truth'' from the 14th, perhaps as a translation of Horace's nudaque veritas.^(Cresswell 2021) Comparisons such as ''naked as a worm'' are from the mid-14th century, and ''naked as a needle'' from the late 14th.^(Etymonline) The ''naked eye'', unaided by an instrument, is from the 1660s, when telescopes and microscopes made such a phrase necessary.^(Etymonline) In Berkshire dialect naked could also mean plain, shabby or poor.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 850 – unclothed.^(OED 1989)

+ * 13th century – blatant.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1340 – of parts of the body.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660s – ''naked eye''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not wearing any clothes; [[nude]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Without the usual covering: ''a naked flame''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Plain and not hidden: ''the naked truth''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Without [[protection]] or defence.^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of the eye, not helped by a [[telescope]] or microscope.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nakedly]]

+ * [[nakedness]]

+ * [[seminaked]]

+ * [[unnaked]]

+ * [[half-naked]]

+ * [[buck-naked]]

+ * [[mother-naked]]

+ * [[naked eye]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nude]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}