forum English · revision 5547

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1460}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈfɔː.rəm/, US /ˈfɔːr.əm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|forum|t=marketplace, open space, public place]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) which is apparently related to forīs, forās “out of doors, outside”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*dʰwer-|t=door, doorway]].^(Etymonline) Hoad, NODE and the SOED say it first meant an enclosure surrounding a house, related to forēs “door”.^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002) It is related to [[foreign]] and [[door]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The marketplace and place of public business in an ancient Roman city: 1460 in the OED, before 1464 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A court or tribunal is from the 17th century,^(Hoad 1986) and figuratively from 1690.^(OED 1989) An assembly or place for public discussion is from 1690 in Barnhart and the 1680s in Etymonline,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and NODE dates the modern sense, a meeting for open discussion, to the mid-18th century.^(NODE 1998) ''Forum shopping'', a plaintiff's choice of the most favourable court, is American legal jargon from 1954.^(OED 1989) An area of a website where users discuss things is a recent sense.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1460 – a Roman marketplace.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1690 – a place of public discussion.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1735 – the forum as the place of public speaking.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1954 – ''forum shopping''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A meeting or place where people can discuss matters of public interest.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[magazine]], programme or the like that allows open discussion.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An area of a [[website]] where users discuss subjects.^(Collins 2023)

+ # The public square and marketplace of an ancient Roman city.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(law)'' A court or tribunal.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[foreign]]

+ * [[door]]

+ * [[forest]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}