scaffold English · revision 846

11 Oct 2026, 00:37 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈskæf.əld/, /ˈskæf.əʊld/^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|scaffold]], [[bor|xno|scaffald]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from a variant of Old French ''eschafaut'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) altered from ''chafaut'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[la-vul|*catafalicum]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from Greek ''kata-'' and ''fala'' “wooden siege tower”.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[catafalque]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A temporary platform on which builders stand at a height (1349 in the OED; 1354 in Barnhart);^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) it appears as a surname in 1299.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ From the late 14th century the word meant a raised platform for exhibiting persons or actions to the public, such as a stage for plays (c. 1386)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a stand for spectators (1470–85).^(OED 1989) It was used of a platform for beheading from the mid-15th century and for any execution from 1557, as in ''to go to the scaffold''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb dates from before 1548.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1349 – a builders' platform.^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1386 – a stage or public platform.^(OED 1989)
+ * mid-15th century – a platform for beheading.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1557 – a platform for execution.^(OED 1989)
+ * before 1548 – verb.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A temporary platform, supported from below or suspended from above, on which workers stand when working at a height.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A platform on which condemned prisoners are executed, as by hanging or beheading.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A raised framework or platform; also, any supporting framework.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ===Verb===
+ # To provide or support with a scaffold.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+ # To place on a raised framework.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[scaffolding]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[catafalque]]
+ * [[gallows]]
+ * [[platform]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}