bath English · revision 5359

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /bɑːθ/, US /bæθ/; plural UK /bɑːðz/, US /bæðz/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bath]], [[inh|ang|bæþ|alt=bæð]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*badą|alt=*badan]],^(Etymonline) the source also of German Bad and Old Norse bað.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is from [[ine-pro|*bʰeh₁-|alt=*bhē-|t=to warm]] with a suffix of action, as in birth and death,^(Etymonline) so that its original sense was heating, not immersing.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) It is related to [[bathe]] and [[bake]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 725 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The immersion of baptism, and a quantity of water for bathing, are from about 885 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and the act of bathing the body from about 1000.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The city of Bath in Somerset, Old English Baðun, was named from its hot springs,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and gave its name to the ''bath chair'' (early 19th century).^(Cresswell 2021) The Order of the Bath (early 17th century) is named from the ceremonial bath taken before installation.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to wash in a bath, is from 1483 and differs from [[bathe]].^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) ''Bathroom'' is from 1780,^(Barnhart 1988) ''bath salts'' from 1875,^(Etymonline) and ''bathtub'' from 1870.^(Barnhart 1988) ''An early bath'' for a player sent off was originally American.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English bæþ.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – the act of bathing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1483 – verb.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1780 – ''bathroom''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1870 – ''bathtub''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large container that is filled with water to sit in and wash the body; a [[bathtub]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The act of washing the body in a bath.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The water in a bath.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(plural)'' A public building for bathing or swimming.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A liquid in which something is soaked, as in a chemical process.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(British)'' To wash someone in a bath, or to have a bath.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bathless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bathe]]

+ * [[bake]]

+ * [[bathroom]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Bath as a verb differs from [[bathe]] in referring to washing in a bath.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) Another bath is an ancient Hebrew measure of liquid, about 38 litres, from Hebrew.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}