agricultural English · revision 5908

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1661}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌæɡ.rɪˈkʌl.tʃər.əl/, /ˌæɡ.rəˈkʌl.tʃər.əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|agriculture|-al]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of or relating to farming: 1661 in MWU and the Historical Thesaurus;^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED) 1766 in Etymonline, and 1776 in the OED and MW Collegiate.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense has stayed close to [[agriculture]], the tilling of the ground and raising of livestock; the Historical Thesaurus notes an occasional wider sense, of or characteristic of the country.^(HTOED) The agricultural ant, a species of North American harvesting ant, is named from 1868.^(OED 1989) In cricket slang an agricultural stroke is a clumsy, slogging shot, as if made with a scythe, from 1937 in the OED,^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) and the Historical Thesaurus dates the sense to 1899.^(HTOED) In British slang, ''to do an agricultural'' is to relieve oneself in the open.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1661 – of or relating to agriculture.^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)

+ * 1766 – in Etymonline's first date.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1868 – agricultural ant.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1899 – a clumsy stroke in cricket.^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of, relating to or used in [[agriculture]]: ''agricultural land''.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Engaged in [[farming]] as the main occupation.^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(British informal)'' In sport, especially [[cricket]], of a stroke or player: clumsy, slogging.^(NODE 1998)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[agriculturally]]

+ * [[nonagricultural]]

+ * [[preagricultural]]

+ * [[unagricultural]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[agriculture]]

+ * [[agrarian]]

+ * [[acre]]

+ * [[culture]]

+ * [[cultivate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}