commit English · revision 5960

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1386|origins=la committo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈmɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English committen, [[bor|la|committere|t=to unite, connect, bring together; to entrust; to perpetrate]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) in Medieval Latin also “to put into custody”,^(NODE 1998) from com- “with, together” (see [[com-]]) and mittere “to release, let go; to send”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) as in [[mission]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To give in charge, entrust: about 1386 in the OED, about 1390 in Chaucer in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline notes that the development of the modern senses in English is not entirely clear.^(Etymonline) To consign someone to custody, in prison or later in a mental institution, is from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) 1467 in the OED with a prison named.^(OED 1989) The sense “to perpetrate a crime or do something wrong” was old in Latin and appears in English in the mid-15th century, 1449 in Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) To trust oneself completely to something is from the 1530s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and ''to commit to writing'' from 1568.^(OED 1989) To involve oneself, or bind oneself by an irrevocable act, is from 1770,^(Etymonline) and Hoad dates the sense “engage, involve” to the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986) The intransitive use, in place of commit oneself, is by 1982, probably influenced by the existentialist sense of [[commitment]] (1948).^(Etymonline) ''Commitment'' meant the committing of a sin or crime in 1611 and a pledge from 1793, in Thomas Jefferson.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1386 – to entrust.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 15th century – to consign to custody.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1449 – to perpetrate.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530s – to trust oneself to.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1568 – ''commit to writing''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1770 – to bind oneself irrevocably.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1982 – to commit, intransitive.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To do something wrong or illegal: ''commit a crime''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To give into someone's care; to [[entrust]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To send someone officially to [[prison]] or a psychiatric hospital.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To [[pledge]] or bind oneself to a course of action or a cause.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To set aside money or resources for a purpose.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(commit to memory)'' To learn by heart.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[committable]]

+ * [[committer]]

+ * [[overcommit]]

+ * [[precommit]]

+ * [[recommit]]

+ * [[uncommit]]

+ * [[commitment]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[commission]]

+ * [[committal]]

+ * [[committee]]

+ * [[noncommittal]]

+ * [[mission]]

+ * [[emit]]

+ * [[admit]]

+ * [[submit]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}