valve English · revision 7537

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1387|origins=la valva}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vælv/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|valva|t=leaf of a folding door]] (usually plural valvae, a folding door),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) literally that which turns, related to [[m|la|volvo|alt=volvere|t=to roll]] (see [[volume]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from PIE [[ine-pro|*welh₁-|alt=*wel-|t=to turn, revolve]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One of the halves of a folding door: before 1387, in Trevisa's translation of Higden's ''Polychronicon''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A membranous fold that regulates the flow of body fluids is first recorded in 1615,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) a mechanical device that works like it in 1659,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and in zoology one of the halves of a hinged shell in 1661.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Word Origins describes the development as from a door leaf to a lid or flap controlling the passage of gas or fluid in the mid-17th century.^(Cresswell 2021) A door controlling the flow of water in a sluice is from 1790.^(OED 1989) The verb, to provide with a valve, is rare, from the mid-19th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1387 – a leaf of a folding door.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1615 – in anatomy.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1659 – a mechanical valve.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1661 – half of a shell.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1790 – a sluice gate.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A device that starts, stops or controls the flow of a [[fluid]] or gas.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' A fold in a hollow organ, such as the [[heart]] or a [[vein]], that prevents fluid from flowing back.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(zoology)'' Either half of a hinged [[shell]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To provide with, or control by, a valve.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[valveless]]

+ * [[valved]]

+ * [[valvelike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[valvular]]

+ * [[volume]]

+ * [[revolve]]

+ * [[involve]]

+ * [[voluble]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}