bench English · revision 5477

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bentʃ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|bench]], [[inh|ang|benc|t=long seat]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*bankiz]],^(Hoad 1986) also the source of Old Frisian benk, Old High German bank and Old Norse bekkr.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[bank]] in the sense of a river bank;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Etymonline suggests that the first idea was “an earthwork used as a seat”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A long seat, usually of wood: the Old English word is in Beowulf, about 725, and the OED's first quotation is from before 1000.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The seat where judges sit in court is from about 1275 in the OED and about 1300 in Etymonline,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) which led, by metonymy, to the judges collectively, from 1592.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A merchant's table is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and a workbench developed from it.^(Collins 2023) The seat where reserve players sit is from 1889 in Etymonline and 1912 in the OED,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the reserve players themselves from 1909.^(Etymonline) The verb, to furnish with benches, is from about 1385;^(OED 1989) to remove a player from a game is from 1902 in Etymonline and 1917 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A ''bench warrant'', issued by a judge, is from the 1690s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English benc, in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1275 – the judges' seat.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1592 – judges collectively.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1889 – the players' bench.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1902 – to take a player out of a game.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A long [[seat]] for several people, usually of wood and often without a back.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A strong table on which a carpenter or other worker works.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(the bench)'' The seat of a judge in court, or [[judge|alt=judges]] and magistrates as a group.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(sport)'' The seat where substitutes and coaches sit, or the substitutes themselves.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(sport)'' To take a player out of a game, or keep them out of it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To show a dog at a dog show.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[benchless]]

+ * [[bencher]]

+ * [[benchland]]

+ * [[benchman]]

+ * [[benchrest]]

+ * [[benchtop]]

+ * [[drawbench]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bank]]

+ * [[benchmark]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In English dialect a bench could be a layer of stone or clay, or a ledge or terrace, a use the OED records for the verb ''bench in'' from 1737.^(Wright 1898)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}