sake English · revision 5531
16 Oct 2026, 02:50 by bogdan “en10k b0205: hire … sudden” current version
Initial text
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+ {{homograph|1|purpose}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1175|origins=gem-pro *sakō}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /seɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|sake|t=strife, guilt]], [[inh|ang|sacu|t=a cause at law, crime, dispute]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*sakō|t=affair, thing, charge]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) also the source of Old Norse sǫk “lawsuit, cause”, Dutch zaak and German Sache “thing, matter”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It comes from the base of Old English sacan “to quarrel, accuse” and is related to [[seek]];^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*sāg-|t=to investigate, seek out]].^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Strife or a lawsuit in Old English; in Middle English blame or guilt, about 1175, and strife or dispute before 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The independent senses “dispute”, “accusation” and “guilt” are all obsolete.^(OED 1989) The word survives in the phrases ''for the sake of'' and ''for someone's sake'', from about 1200,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) which were originally legal expressions and are probably modelled on Old Norse, as Old English has nothing like them.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) MWU explains ''for someone's sake'' as meaning at first “because of someone's guilt”.^(MWU 2024) ''For God's sake'' is from the early 14th century.^(Etymonline) The word also hides in [[forsake]], [[keepsake]] and [[namesake]].^(Cresswell 2021)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 725 – Old English sacu, in Beowulf.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * c. 1175 – guilt, blame.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * c. 1200 – ''for the sake of''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * early 14th century – ''for God's sake''.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(in for the sake of, for someone's sake)'' The [[benefit]] or good of someone or something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Purpose or reason: ''for the sake of argument''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # ''(in exclamations)'' Used to show impatience: ''for heaven's sake''.^(Collins 2023)
+
+ {{homograph|2|drink}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1687|origins=ja 酒}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: UK /ˈsɑː.ki/, /ˈsæk.i/, US /ˈsɑː.ki/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The drink is [[bor|ja|酒|tr=sake|t=alcohol, rice wine]].^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A Japanese fermented liquor made from rice: 1687 in the OED and Barnhart, spelt saque, in a translation of Thévenot's travels.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) MWU dates it to 1682.^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The spelling sake is first recorded in 1878.^(Barnhart 1988) The variant spellings saké and saki are also used.^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1687 – saque.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1878 – the spelling sake.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented [[rice]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[forsake]]
+ * [[keepsake]]
+ * [[namesake]]
+ * [[seek]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ In the dialects of Cheshire, Shropshire and the West Country a sake was also a land-spring, a wet spot where water oozes out.^(Wright 1898)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}