summit English · revision 6127

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1400|origins=la summus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsʌm.ɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English somet, somette, [[bor|frm|somete]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from Old French [[m|fro|sommette|t=summit, top]], a diminutive of [[m|fro|som|t=highest part, top of a hill]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|summum]], the noun use of the neuter of [[m|la|summus|t=highest]] (see [[sum]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) related to [[m|la|super|t=over]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The spelling with -it, from the 17th century, is due to the older English [[summity]] (14th to 18th century), from Late Latin summitās.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The highest point or peak of a physical thing: before 1400 in Barnhart, about 1400 in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the OED's earliest use, the top part of anything, is 1470–85.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The topmost point of a mountain or hill is from 1481.^(OED 1989) Figuratively, the highest point or degree of something abstract, as ''the summit of his ambition'', is from 1711.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The highest level in politics and international relations is from 1950, from Winston Churchill's metaphor of ''a parley at the summit'';^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) ''summit meeting'' is by 1955 and summit alone, a meeting of heads of government, by 1959.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[summiteer]] is from 1957.^(Barnhart 1988) In geometry a summit is a vertex of a polyhedron (1805–17).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1400 – the highest point, peak.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1481 – the top of a mountain.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1711 – the highest degree, figuratively.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1950 – the highest political level, after Churchill.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1955 – summit meeting.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1959 – a summit, a meeting.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The highest point or part, especially of a mountain; the top.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The highest possible level or degree; the [[peak]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A meeting of heads of government or other top officials.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To reach the summit of a mountain.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[summital]]

+ * [[summitless]]

+ * [[minisummit]]

+ * [[presummit]]

+ * [[summiteer]]

+ * [[summitry]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sum]]

+ * [[summary]]

+ * [[summa]]

+ * [[super]]

+ * [[supreme]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The AHD compares summit with [[peak]], [[pinnacle]], [[acme]], [[apex]], [[zenith]] and [[climax]], which all mean the highest point; summit denotes the highest level that can be attained.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}