poem English · revision 6617

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1548|origins=grc ποιέω}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpəʊ.ɪm/, /ˈpəʊ.əm/ ''(UK)''; /ˈpoʊ.əm/, /ˈpəʊ.ɪm/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|poème]] or directly [[bor|la|poēma|t=composition in verse]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[grc|ποίημα|alt=πόημα|tr=póēma|t=a thing made; fiction, poetic work]], an early variant of poíēma,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|grc|ποιέω|tr=poiéō|t=to make, compose]] (see [[poet]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A composition in verse: 1548 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1540s in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) MWU and SOED date it to the 15th century.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) It replaced earlier [[poesy]] in this sense.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A composition in prose with the imaginative qualities of poetry is from 1581.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Figuratively, anything of a poetic beauty, such as a building or a dish, is from 1642.^(OED 1989) Hoad relates the Greek root to Sanskrit cinóti, to assemble or heap up.^(Hoad 1986) The spelling pome, representing a careless pronunciation, is from 1856.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1548 – a composition in verse.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1581 – a poetic composition in prose.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1642 – something of poetic beauty.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A piece of writing in [[verse]], often with [[rhyme]] and [[metre]], expressing feelings or ideas with heightened language.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something felt to have the beauty of a poem.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[symphonic poem]]

+ * [[tone poem]]

+ * [[prose poem]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[poet]]

+ * [[poetic]]

+ * [[poetics]]

+ * [[poetry]]

+ * [[poesy]]

+ * [[onomatopoeia]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}