pound English · revision 6027

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /paʊnd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|unit of weight and money}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 810|origins=la pondo}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The unit is Middle English pound, punde, [[inh|ang|pund]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*pundą]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which also gave Gothic and Old Norse pund, Old High German phunt (German Pfund) and Dutch pond;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) it is a very early Germanic borrowing of [[la|pondō|t=by weight]], from libra pondō “a pound by weight”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) the ablative of a noun *pondos, related to pondus “weight” and pendere “to hang, weigh”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from the PIE root [[ine-pro|*(s)pen-|t=to draw, stretch, spin]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A measure of weight: before 810 in Barnhart, 805–31 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) A unit of money is recorded in Old English about 975, first a pound weight of silver.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the Middle Ages several pounds were reckoned: the Tower pound and the troy pound of 12 ounces, the merchant's of 15, and the avoirdupois of 16, which was fixed for trade before 1377.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Old English pund also meant a pint, a pound weight of water.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The abbreviations lb and £ are from Latin libra, as accounts were kept in Latin.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) A pound of flesh, an exact and harsh demand, comes from Shylock's bond in ''The Merchant of Venice'' (1596).^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) Pound cake (1747) has about a pound of each ingredient.^(Etymonline) In America, the pound sign is the symbol #.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 810 – a weight.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 975 – a unit of money.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1377 – the 16-ounce pound fixed for trade.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1596 – a pound of flesh.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1747 – pound cake.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A unit of weight equal to 16 ounces (about 454 grams); lb.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The basic monetary unit of the United Kingdom, divided into 100 pence; also of several other countries.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US)'' The symbol #; the pound sign.^(AHD)

+

+ {{homograph|2|to beat}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is an alteration, with an added d, of Middle English pounen, [[inh|ang|pūnian|t=to crush, pulverize, beat]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from West Germanic *pūnōjan, probably akin to Dutch puin “rubble, fragments”, of unknown origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To crush or pulverize: about 1000 in Barnhart and MWU's “before 12th century”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English pounen meant to grind grain or pulverize herbs;^(Etymonline) the unetymological d appears in the 16th century, pownden before 1500 and pound in 1594.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) To beat or punch someone is from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) to thrash with fists or a heavy instrument by 1790,^(Etymonline) and to hit hard again and again first in Dryden in 1700.^(Barnhart 1988) Moving with heavy steps is from the 19th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – to crush.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 14th century – to beat someone.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1594 – the spelling pound.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1700 – to hit repeatedly, in Dryden.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To strike hard and repeatedly.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To crush to a powder or pulp.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of the heart, to beat strongly; to [[throb]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # To walk or run with heavy steps.^(Collins 2023)^(Hoad 1986)

+ # To attack with heavy gunfire.^(AHD)

+

+ {{homograph|3|enclosure}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1378}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The enclosure is from late Old English pund-, found only in compounds such as pundfald “pinfold”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) related to pyndan “to dam up, enclose water” and so to [[pond]];^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) its ultimate origin is unknown.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An enclosure for stray animals: probably about 1378, in Wycliffe, in Barnhart; the late 14th century in Etymonline; earlier in the surname Pond (1206) and in place names.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was especially an enclosure kept by the authorities for straying or trespassing cattle,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) also used to store seized goods,^(Etymonline) and by 1970 a lot for impounded motor vehicles.^(Etymonline) The verb, to shut up in a pound, is from the 15th century.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) Compare [[impound]].^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1198 – in a place name.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1378 – an enclosure for animals.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1970 – a car pound.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An enclosure where stray dogs or cattle, or vehicles removed by the police, are kept until claimed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pounder]]

+ * [[impound]]

+ * [[pond]]

+ * [[pinfold]]

+ * [[pendant]]

+ * [[ponder]]

+ * [[Libra]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}