liquid English · revision 5583

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1382|origins=la liquēre}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlɪk.wɪd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|liquide]], [[bor|fro|liquide|t=liquid, running]] and directly from [[la|liquidus|t=fluid, liquid, moist]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|liquēre|t=to be fluid]], related to līquī “to melt, flow”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*wleikʷ-|t=to flow, run]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[liquor]].^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of a substance, flowing, neither solid nor gaseous: 1382, in the Wycliffe Bible.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of light or air, clear and bright like water, is from 1590,^(OED 1989) and of sounds, flowing and pure, from before 1637, in Ben Jonson.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The noun first meant a liquid consonant, the sound of l or r, from 1530, translating Latin liquidae, itself from Greek hygrá;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a liquid substance is from 1708.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) In finance, of assets easily turned into cash, it is from 1818, from earlier Scots law use for debts that had been proved.^(Etymonline) Barnhart dates this sense to 1879.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1382 – flowing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530 – a liquid consonant.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590 – clear, bright.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1708 – a liquid substance.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1818 – of assets.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A substance such as [[water]] or oil that flows freely and has no fixed shape.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(phonetics)'' A consonant such as l or r.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # In the form of a liquid; not solid or a gas.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Clear, bright and smooth: ''liquid eyes'', ''liquid notes''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(finance)'' Easily turned into cash: ''liquid assets''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[liquidly]]

+ * [[liquidness]]

+ * [[liquidity]]

+ * [[liquid compass]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[liquidate]]

+ * [[liquidation]]

+ * [[liquor]]

+ * [[liquefy]]

+ * [[liquify]]

+ * [[liqueur]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}