warren English · revision 6689

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=1377}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈwɒɹən/ ''(UK)''; /ˈwɔɹən/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English wareine, [[bor|xno|warenne]], a northern variant of Old French [[m|fro|garenne|t=game park, hunting reserve]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) of uncertain origin: possibly from Gaulish *varenna, an enclosed area, from *varros, post (compare Irish farr, pillar),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) or, as Watkins prefers, from the present participle of Old North French warir, to defend, keep,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*war-|t=to guard]], as in [[beware]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A piece of land enclosed and preserved for breeding game: 1377 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 1378, in ''Piers Plowman'', in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) As a surname it is from the late 13th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the Forest Laws of England a warren was especially land set aside by royal authority for breeding rabbits and hares; the ''beasts of warren'' also included pheasants and partridges.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Land for breeding rabbits is from about 1400.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The right to keep game, ''free warren'', is from 1485.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, a crowded cluster of dwellings or a maze-like building, is from the 1640s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In northern dialect a warren was also a mill dam.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1377 – a game preserve.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – a rabbit warren.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1485 – free warren.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1640s – a crowded place.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A network of interconnected [[burrow|alt=burrows]] where [[rabbit|alt=rabbits]] live, or the colony of rabbits.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A crowded building or district, or a maze of passages: ''a warren of narrow streets''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly British, historical)'' An enclosed area where small game is kept.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[warrener]]

+ * [[rabbit warren]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[beware]]

+ * [[garrison]]

+ * [[guarantee]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In engineering, a Warren girder or truss is named after the British engineer James Warren (mid-19th century).^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}