Etymology

post

P3O1S1T1

Today it means: A long dowel or plank protruding from the ground; a fencepost; a lightpost. Full definition →

First used 16th–17th c.Middle English post ← Old French post ← Latin postis
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post · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*pró
  4. Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*pr̥-sth₂-i-s
  6. Proto-Italic*porstis
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂pó
  10. Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*h₂pó-sth₂-i-s
  12. Proto-Italic*postis
  13. Latinpostis
  14. Old Englishpost
  15. Latinpostis
  16. Old Frenchpost
  17. Middle Englishpost
  18. English todaypost

Inherited from Middle English post, from Old English post (“pillar, door-post”) and Old French post (“post, upright beam”), both from Latin postis (“door, post, doorpost”).

post · noun, verb, adverb2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂pó
  4. Proto-Italic*po
  5. Proto-Indo-European*teḱ-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*tḱéytibf.
  7. Proto-Indo-European*tḱey-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*tḱinéti
  9. Proto-Italic*sinō
  10. Proto-Italic*pozinō
  11. Latinpōnō
  12. Latinposita
  13. Italianposta
  14. Middle Frenchposte
  15. English todaypost

Borrowed from Middle French poste, from Italian posta (“stopping-place for coaches”), feminine of posto (“placed, situated”).

post · noun, verb3

  1. French · borrowed fromposte
  2. English todaypost

Probably from French poste.

post · preposition4

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pós
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pósti
  3. Proto-Italic*posti
  4. Old Latinposte
  5. Latinpost
  6. English todaypost

Learned borrowing from Latin post.

post · noun5

Clipping of post-production.

post · noun6

Clipping of post mortem.

Words from the same roots

Latinpost all →

postpartumapostillepost-post festumpost meridiempost mortem

First known use, by meaning

  • 16th–17th c. Each of a series of men stationed at specific places along a postroad, with responsibility for relaying letters and dispatches of the monarch (and later others) along the route.
  • from 16th c. Someone who travels express along a set route carrying letters and dispatches; a courier.
  • from 17th c. An organisation for delivering letters, parcels etc., or the service provided by such an organisation.
  • from 17th c. A single delivery of letters; the letters or deliveries that make up a single batch delivered to one person or one address.
  • from 20th c. A message posted in an electronic or Internet forum, or on a blog, etc.
  • from 16th c. To travel with relays of horses; to travel by post horses, originally as a courier.
  • from 16th c. To travel quickly; to hurry.
  • from 19th c. To send (an item of mail etc.) through the postal service.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.