column English · revision 5961

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1440|origins=la columna}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈkɒl.əm/, US /ˈkɑː.ləm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English columne, partly [[bor|fro|columpne]], colombe (modern French colonne),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and partly from its source, [[la|columna|t=pillar, post]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) related to [[m|la|columen|t=top, summit]], celsus “high” and collis “hill”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from the PIE root [[ine-pro|*kel-|t=to be prominent; hill]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which also gave English [[hill]] and [[excel]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A vertical division of a page: about 1440, in the ''Promptorium Parvulorum'';^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) a pillar, before 1449 in Barnhart and 1481 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Word Origins notes that the two senses appeared at about the same time.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A military formation narrow in front and deep, as opposed to a line, is from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) An upright mass of water, air or smoke is first in Milton in 1671,^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989) and the spinal column from 1828.^(Cresswell 2021) The matter written for a newspaper column, a regular article, is from 1785,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) which gave ''columnist'', American English in 1920.^(Barnhart 1988) A natural column of rock is from 1775,^(OED 1989) and a distilling column from 1875.^(OED 1989) ''Columnar'' is from 1728.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1440 – a division of a page.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1449 – a pillar.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1670s – a military column.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1671 – a column of smoke or water, in Milton.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1785 – a newspaper column.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1828 – the spinal column.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1920 – ''columnist''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An upright [[pillar]], usually round, that supports part of a building or stands alone as a monument.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something long and upright like a pillar: ''a column of smoke''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A vertical section of text on a page.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A regular article in a [[newspaper]] or [[magazine]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A long, narrow line of troops, vehicles or people, one behind another.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A vertical row of figures in a table.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[columned]]

+ * [[columnar]]

+ * [[columnist]]

+ * [[agony column]]

+ * [[column inch]]

+ * [[column vector]]

+ * [[fifth column]]

+ * [[flying column]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[colonnade]]

+ * [[hill]]

+ * [[excel]]

+ * [[culminate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}