scope English · revision 6722

+ English has two words spelled scope: the extent or range of something, and a short form of words such as [[telescope]] and [[microscope]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /skəʊp/ ''(UK)''; /skoʊp/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|extent, range}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1534|origins=grc σκοπός}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The extent is [[bor|it|scopo|t=aim, purpose, target]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|scopus]], from [[grc|σκοπός|tr=skopós|t=aim, target; watcher]], related to [[m|grc|σκοπέω|tr=skopéō|t=to look at, consider]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which Watkins derives from PIE [[ine-pro|*spek-|t=to observe]] (see [[spy]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Room to act, free play: 1534 in Barnhart, the 1530s in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) SOED's first sense is a target, a mark for shooting at (mid-16th century).^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Something aimed at, an ultimate aim, is from the 1550s, and the classical sense of a target from the 1560s, now obsolete.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Extent in space is by the 1590s.^(Etymonline) The range the mind can reach is first recorded in Shakespeare's ''Sonnets'', about 1600.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The sphere in which an activity operates is by 1830.^(Etymonline) At sea, the scope is the length of cable at which a ship rides at anchor (17th century).^(Hoad 1986)^(AHD) The verb, to calculate the scope of, is from 1807, and the slang ''scope out'', to look over, by 1985.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1534 – room to act.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1550s – an aim.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – the range of the mind.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1830 – a sphere of activity.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1985 – scope out.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The extent of the area or subject that something deals with: ''beyond the scope of this book''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Opportunity or freedom to act: ''scope for improvement''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The range of a person's thought or perception.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The length of a [[mooring]] cable.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(informal)'' To look at or examine, often with ''out''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ {{homograph|2|viewing instrument}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1872}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The instrument is a shortening of [[telescope]], [[microscope]] and similar words,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) whose ending [[-scope]] is from [[grc|σκοπέω|tr=skopéō|t=to look]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ 1872, in Oliver Wendell Holmes's ''The Poet at the Breakfast-Table''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was used as a short form of [[horoscope]] about 1600.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) By 1945 it also meant a radar screen or [[oscilloscope]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1600 – a horoscope.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1872 – a viewing instrument.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1945 – a radar screen.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(informal)'' A viewing instrument such as a [[telescope]], [[microscope]] or [[periscope]], especially a [[telescopic sight]] on a gun.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[-scope]]

+ * [[spy]]

+ * [[skeptic]]

+ * [[bishop]]

+ * [[episcopal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}