missile English · revision 7358

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1610|origins=la mitto}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɪs.aɪl/, /ˈmɪs.(ə)l/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|missile|t=a weapon that can be thrown]], the neuter of missilis, capable of being thrown,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from missus, the past participle of [[m|la|mitto|alt=mittere|t=to send, throw]] (see [[mission]]),^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986) partly through French [[m|fr|missile]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, capable of being thrown, chiefly in ''missile weapon'': 1611 in the OED, the 1610s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The noun is from 1656, in Blount's ''Glossographia''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Word Origins notes that the earliest missiles were gifts, such as sweets, thrown to crowds by Roman emperors.^(Cresswell 2021) A thing thrown as a weapon, as a stone or arrow, is from the 1650s.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) A self-propelled rocket or bomb is first recorded in 1738,^(Etymonline) and modern rocket-propelled guided projectiles by 1945.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1611 – capable of being thrown.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1656 – a thrown weapon (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1738 – a self-propelled rocket.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1945 – a guided missile.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A weapon that is self-propelled or directed by remote control, carrying an explosive warhead.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An object or weapon that is thrown, fired or otherwise propelled at a target.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antimissile]]

+ * [[missileer]]

+ * [[missileman]]

+ * [[missilery]]

+ * [[missile gap]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mess]]

+ * [[message]]

+ * [[messenger]]

+ * [[mission]]

+ * [[missionary]]

+ * [[missive]]

+ * [[emit]]

+ * [[dismiss]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}