Dear All,
During the thread on maxims, there has been a subsidiary thread on the etymology and original meanings of word “design” in different languages.
This is a slightly misleading question. Any word that moves into a new language from words in older languages has a history. That history entails an etymology that carries with it some traces of the meanings that words once had in those languages.
When the word enters a new language, however, these are different words with different meanings, and they are embedded in a culture of different practices and understandings. The English word “design” began as an English word – the meanings of this word are embedded in the evolving culture of the English language in the same way that the meanings of such words as disegno or designare are embedded in the cultures and languages from which they came.
The first recorded use of the English word design dates to 1548. The word was used first as a verb. When Henry Wotton used the word more than half a century later, two things happened. First, he brought to his usage an inflection from the word “disegno” that he too on his Italian travels. Second, he introduced to the English language a new flavor of the word design based on this inflection. As Eduardo noted, the English word design did not encompass both the sense of graphical representation and the sense of idea.
The English language of the 16th and 17th century was still quite fluid. English had emerged from Middle English intoEarly Modern English, but the language was still in transition. Words couldtake on new meanings with reasonable ease – and words were still being born. Shakespeare lived and worked at roughly the same time as Wotton. He made creative contributions to the vocabulary of modern English by his way o using what Icall “verbed nouns” and “nouned verbs,” and by coining many hundreds of the words and usages that are standard modern English today. Wotton’s usage and others since create part of the tone of design in its current use.
But the word “design” has a history and a heritage in English as distinct from the cargo of tone and inflection it has taken since its firstrecorded use in 1548.
In English, design began as a verb to describe a process of thought and planning. This verb takes precedence over all other meanings. The word “design” had a place in the English language by the 1500s. The first written citation of the verb “design” dates from the year 1548. Merriam-Webster (1993: 343) defines the verb design as “to conceive and plan out in the mind; to have as a specific purpose; to devise for a specific function or end.” Related to these is the act of drawing, with an emphasis on the nature of the drawing as a plan or map, as well as “to draw plans for; to create, fashion, execute or construct according to plan.”
Half a century later, the word began to be used as a noun. The first cited use of the noun“design” occurs in 1588. Merriam-Webster (1993: 343) defines the noun, as “a particular purpose held in view by an individual or group; deliberate, purposive planning; a mental project or scheme in which means to an end arelaid down.” Here, too, purpose and planning toward desired outcomes are central. Among these are “a preliminary sketch or outline showing the main features of something to be executed; an underlying scheme that governs functioning, developing or unfolding; a plan or protocol for carrying out or accomplishing something; the arrangement of elements or details in a product or work of art.” Only at the very end do we find “a decorative pattern.” The definitions end with a noun describing a process: “the creative art of executing aesthetic or functional designs.”
To allow anyone who wishes to study a good selection of sources, this post is followed by definitions of the word design from Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary (via Britannica Online), the Oxford English Dictionary, the 1913edition of Webster’s from the ARTFL Project, Wordsmyth, Encarta, Webster’s Third Unabridged, and some books in Oxford Reference Online.
Even though I harvested this material a decade back, there have been relatively few changes in history, etymology, or meaning in the past ten years. There may be new exemplars from emerging design fields. Only when exemplars reflect a change in meaning do they enter the dictionary. Exemplars in new fields that reflect existing meanings may be entered in a lexicographic database, but they will not usually be added to a dictionary.
These definitions contain etymology and trace the development and meaning of the word through senses in different languages as well as in English.
The appended definitions run to nearly 8,000 words, reflecting the development and history of the word “design.”
Before closing and leaving you to the sources, I suggest caution with etymology and especially with essays that purport to develop etymological scholarship. There are many opinions on word origins. Many opinions are incorrect, with myth, folk tales, and mistaken readings as their source.
Dozens of essays on the supposed original meaning of the word design have this kind of plausible but inaccurate standing. These essays shed light on what authors think about the words they use, but they do not shed light on the etymology or origins of the word design.
Villem Flusser’s (1995) essay neglects key etymological concepts and shifts. As a result, his interpretation is intriguing but eccentric. As a journalist and philosopher, this is Flusser’s privilege. Scholars must be more cautious.
Kostas Terzidis has the advantage of speaking Greek, but he is not a scholar of language. His field is architecture, and his background is engineering design. Terzidis is an interesting thinker, and his ability to play with words opens a fruitful path to ideas. This is quite different to etymology.
There is not one responsible source for etymology or linguistics in either of these essays. Both represent a kind of folk etymology based on memory, opinion, and invention.
Flusser’s view of the word design is an interesting philosophical excursion. As etymology, however, it is inadequate. Flusser shows his use of words, but he shows no sources, no path of descent, and no exemplars. This is a kind of folk etymology raised to the level of interesting reflection by Villem Flusser’s genius.
Many etymological mistakes arise from the fact that similar or seemingly similar words have no etymological relationship one to the other. They may resemble one another as homonyms share spelling or pronunciation while being different in meaning and in etymology. Despite the resemblance, they are different words. This is the case when amateur etymologists draw on superficially similar words.
Robust etymology requires good sources and exemplars. The Oxford English Dictionary is a good place to start. To go deeper, one must seek out an etymologist or a source based on serious etymology rather than on myth and invention.
Yours,
Ken
Professor Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished Professor | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia | [log in to unmask] | Phone +61 3 9214 6102 | http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design
References
Flusser, Villem. 1995. “On the Word Design: An Etymological Essay.” Design Issues, Vol. 11 , No. 3, Autumn 1995, pp. 50-53.
Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1993. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Tenth edition. Springfield, Massachusetts.
Terzidis, Kostas. 2007. “The Etymology of Design: Pre-Socratic Perspective.” Design Issues: Vol. 23, No. 4, Autumn 2007, pp. 69-78.
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Headword Design
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def design: de·sign verb Etymology: Middle English, to outline, indicate, mean, from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French designer to designate, from Medieval Latin designare, from Latin, to mark out, from de- + signare to mark -- more at SIGN Date: 14th century transitive senses 1 : to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan : DEVISE, CONTRIVE 2 a : to conceive and plan out in the mind <he designed the perfect crime> b : to have as a purpose : INTEND <she designed to excel in her studies> c : to devise for a specific function or end <a book designed primarily as a college textbook> 3 archaic : to indicate with a distinctive mark, sign, or name 4 a : to make a drawing, pattern, or sketch of b : to draw the plans for intransitive senses 1 : to conceive or execute a plan 2 : to draw, lay out, or prepare a design - de·sign·ed·ly /-’zI-n&d-lE/ adverb
design noun Date: 1588 1 a : a particular purpose held in view by an individual or group <he has ambitious designs for his son> b : deliberate purposive planning <more by accident than design> 2 : a mental project or scheme in which means to an end are laid down 3 a : a deliberate undercover project or scheme : PLOT b plural : aggressive or evil intent -- used with on or against <he has designs on the money> 4 : a preliminary sketch or outline showing the main features of something to be executed : DELINEATION 5 a : an underlying scheme that governs functioning, developing, or unfolding : PATTERN, MOTIF <thegeneral design of the epic> b : a plan or protocol for carrying out or accomplishing something (as a scientific experiment); also : the process of preparing this 6 : the arrangement of elements or details in a product or work of art 7 : a decorative pattern 8 : the creative art of executing aesthetic or functional designs synonym see INTENTION, PLAN (Britannica Webster’s 1999: unpaged).
Britannica Webster’s. 1999. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Online edition. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. URL: http://www.britannica.com/
Date accessed: 1999 April 19.
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def design verb [a. F. désigner (16th c. in Rabelais, in 14th c. desinner Godef. Suppl.) ‘to denote, signifie, or shew by a marke or token, to designe, prescribe, appoint’ (Cotgr.), ad. L. dsignre, dissignre to mark out, trace out, denote, DESIGNATE, appoint, contrive, etc., f. DE- I. 2 and DIS- + signre to mark, signum mark, SIGN. Cf. Pr. designar, desegnar, Sp., Pg. designar, It. disegnare (in 16th c. also dissegnare, designare, Florio). In It. the vb. hadin 16th c. the senses ‘to designe, contriue, plot, purpose, intend; also to draw, paint, embroither, modle, pourtray’ (Florio); thence obs. F. desseigner ‘to designe, purpose, proiect, lay a plot’ (Cotgr.), and mod.F. dessiner, in 16th c. designer, 17th c. dessigner, to design in the artistic sense. In Eng., design combines all these senses.] I. [after L. dsignre, F. désigner] To mark out, nominate, appoint, DESIGNATE. 1. trans. To point out by distinctive sign, mark, or token; to indicate. Also with forth, out. Obs. 1593 SHAKES. Rich. II, I. i. 203 We shall see Iustice designe the Victors Chiualrie. 1594 SPENSER Amoretti lxxiv, Most happy letters!..With which that happy name was first desynd. 1610 DONNE Pseudo Martyr 313 The Sunne, which designes priesthod, is so much bigger then the Moon. 1614 SELDEN Titles Hon. 117 The Forme..being vsuall..with such Substantiues to designe out the subiect denominated of the Adiectiue. 1641 T. WARMSTRY Blind Guide Forsaken 37 Designing forth unto us the place whither hee is ascended. 1668 SEDLEY Mulb. Gard. I. ii, Those Cravats that design the Right Honourable. absol. 1606 WARNER Alb. Eng.XIV. lxxxviii. (1612) 360 Euen so As had their Oracles of them dissigned long ago. 2. To point out by name or by descriptive phrase; in Law, to specify (a person) by title, profession, trade, etc.; to designate, name, style. Sometimes with double obj.(direct and complemental). arch. 1603-21 KNOLLES Hist. Turks 1311 Willing the Turks to designe the partie which had thrown the stone. 1614 RALEIGH Hist. World II. IV. iii. §1. 178 He left his Kingdom to the worthiest, as designing Perdiccas. 1794 SULLIVAN View Nat. II. 393 Voltaire..in designing Geneva, called it la petite République voisine de ses terres. 1814 SOUTHEY Roderick XVIII, The plains Burgensian..ere long To be design’d Castille. 1874 Act 37-8 Vict. c. 94 §38 The writer..is not named or designed. 3. Of names, signs, etc.: To signify, stand for. 1627 HAKEWILL Apol. (1630) Bbbiijb, The numerall..then designeth so many hundred thousand. a1631 DONNE Serm. (1839) IV. cvii. 466 A few lines of ciphers will design..that number. 1642 JER. TAYLOR Episc. (1647) 138 Names which did designe temporary offices. 4. To appoint to office, function, or position; to designate, nominate. Const. as in 2. Obs. 1596 BELL Surv. Popery III. xii. 509 The priest was designed ouer the penitents in euerie church. 1607TOPSELL Four-f. Beasts (1658) 127 A perpetuall and unquenchable fire, for the watching whereof, were Dogs designed. 1611 SPEED Hist. Gt. Brit. IX. xvi. (1632) 862 Where Election designeth the Successor. a1649 DRUMMOND OF HAWTHORNDEN Jas. V Wks. (1711) 113 The commission..in which he is designed lieutenant. 1668 DAVENANT Man’s the Master V. i, When you design’d your man to court her in your shape. 1701 ROWE Ambit. Step-Moth. II. i. 555Great, just and merciful, such as Mankind..would have design’d a King. 5. To appoint or assign (something to a person); to make over, bestow, grant, give. Const. to or dat. Obs. exc. in Sc. Law. 1572 Sc. Acts Jas. VI(1597) §48 They haue appoynted, marked, and designed the said manse, with foure acres..to the vse of the Minister..that sall..minister at the said kirk. 1592 DAVIES Immort. Soul xxxiii. (R.), Three kinds of life to her designed be. 1608 J. KING Serm. St. Mary’s 8 Afterwardes when Michal was designed to him [David]. 1650-60 TATHAM Wks. (1879) 169 He is the challenged and justly may Design the way of fighting. 1651 Fuller’s Abel Rediv., Musculus 257 Designing unto Musculus one of the principallest Churches. 1681 GLANVILL Sadducismus II. 296 The Spirit’s name which he designed her was Locas. 1784 COWPER Task VI. 580 Nature..when she form’d, designed them an abode. 1864 Daily Review 14 Nov., The minister of Dalgety in 1862..stating..that in terms of the Act 1663, chapter 21, he was entitled to have grass designed to him for the support of a horse..and praying the Presbytery to make the necessary designation accordingly. 6. Hence, with mixture of II, and ultimately fusing with 10: To set apart in thought for the use or advantage of some one; to intend to bestow or give. Const. for, to, on. 1664 DRYDEN Rival Ladies Ded., This worthless Present was design’d you, long before it was a Play. 1666 Ann. Mirab. lx, Their mounting shot is on our sails designed: Deep in their hulls our deadly bullets light. 1673 Essex Papers (Camden) I. 153 Trear. designes the place to Orrery, but I am confident it will never be. 1701 Pennsylv. Archives I. 142, I fully design’d you a visit. 1725 DE FOE Voy. round World (1840) 245 What present I had designed for her. 1833 H. MARTINEAU Brooke Farm ii. 22 Hearing what favours were designed for his boy. 1861 M. PATTISON Ess. (1889) I. 30 These fragments are designed for the German, rather than the English reader. 7. To appoint, destine, devote (a thing or person) to a fate or purpose. Now merged in 10. 1593 NASHE Christ’s T. 23a, Because I am Christ the iust, therfore you will designe me to the Crosse vniustly. 1623 MASSINGER Bondman IV. ii, This well-built city, not long since designed To spoil and rapine. 1662 GERBIER Princ. 15 The Duke..designed in his Will ten Thousand Gilders..to..alter what he had Built amisse. 1691 RAY Creation (1714) 174 Neither yet need those who are designed to Divinity itself fear to lookinto these studies. [1747 Col. Rec. Pennsylv. V. 139 The Goods design’d as a Present to the Indians.] II. [allied to DESIGN n. I, obs. F. desseigner] To plan, purpose, intend. 8. To form a plan or scheme of; to conceive and arrange in the mind; to originate mentally, plan out, contrive. 1548 HALL Chron. 215 When all thing was redy, according as he desyned. 1594 CAREW Huarte’s Exam. Wits (1616) 218 The matters which they disseigne and worke with much wisdome. 1647 CLARENDON Hist. Reb. v. (1702) I. 430 That he should begin his Journey..so unfit for Travel..if his going away was design’d the day before. 1682 BUNYAN Holy War (Cassell) 250 If the enemy..should design and plot our ruin. 1795 SOUTHEY Vis. Maid of Orleans I. 170 Eternal Wisdom deals Or peace to man, or misery, for his good Alike design’d. 1812 S. ROGERS Columbus VII. 46 He can suspend the laws himself designed. 9. In weaker sense: To purpose, intend, mean. Rarely, to be designed (obs.), like to be purposed, resolved, determined, minded, etc. 1660 R.COKE Justice Vind. Ep. Ded. 5, I designe no more than to demonstrate that [etc.]. 1701 DE FOE True-born Eng. 34 And yet he really designs no wrong. 1830 D’ISRAELI Chas. I, III. vi. 82 [Charles] designed inviting great artists to England. b. with inf. phr. 1655-60 STANLEY Hist. Philos. (1701) 106/2 Great Queens, if you are design’d to speak to Mortals, Make me acquainted with your rumbling voice. 1678 BUTLER Hud. III. i. 1386 How does the Devil know What ‘twas that I design’d to do? 1724 DE FOE Mem. Cavalier (1840) 162, I design to go with you. 1874 J. T. MICKLETHWAITE Mod. Par. Churches 224 Those objects which we design to bequeath to posterity. c. with subord. clause as obj. a1704 T. BROWN Declam. Praise Wealth Argum., A proclamation, that she design’d her smiles should no more fall on the unworthy. 1715 DE FOE Fam. Instruct. I. vii. (1841) I. 125, I did not design you should have heard. 10. With complement (a) inf. or n., (b) prep. phr.: To purpose or intend (a thing) to be or do (something); to mean (a thing) to serve some purpose or fulfil some plan. a. 1703 MOXON Mech. Exerc. 137 So far as you design the Balcony to project. 1713 ADDISON Cato I. iv, Other creatures, Than what our nature and the Gods design’d us. 1733 LD. ORRERY in Duncombe’s Lett. (1773) II. 35 The wood-walk, which I designed a labyrinth, is almost finished. 1779 COWPER Lett. 21 Sept., I have glazed the two frames, designed to receive my pine plants. 1802 M. EDGEWORTH Moral T. (1816) I. xiv. 116 Withone..kick, designed to express his contempt. 1860 HOOK Lives Abps.(1869) I. i. 18 The emperors designed it to be a general council. b. a1700 DRYDEN (J.), You are not for obscurity designed, But, like the sun, must cheer all human kind. 1746 in Leisure Hour (1880) 23 A pewter teapot, but I believe it was designed for silver. 1756 BURKE Vind. Nat. Soc. Wks. 1808 I. 67 Ask of politicians the end for which laws were originally designed; and they will answer, that the laws were designed as a protection for the poor and weak. 1766 GOLDSM. Vic. W. xxi, The morning I designed for our departure. 1882 J. H. BLUNT Ref. Ch. Eng. II. 21 The palace which Somerset designed for this splendid site. 11. intr. To have purposes or intentions (of a specified kind). rare. 1749 FIELDING Tom Jones XIV. vii, To persuade the mother..that you designed honourably. 12. trans. To have in view, contemplate. 1677 HALE Prim. Orig. Man. I. i. 18 Before he come to the Subject it self which he designes. 1784 COWPER Task III. 11 So I, designing other themes, and call’d T’ adorn the Sofa with eulogium. 1877 W. BRUCE Comm. Revelation 87 Tell him that his natural Enemies are not designed in the promise. 13. intr. and quasi-pass. (usually with for): To intend to go or start; to be bound for (a place). 1644 EVELYN Mem. (1857) I. 75 Within sight of Tours where we were designed for the rest of the time. 1684 LADY RUSSELL Lett. I. xv. 42 The question..when I design for Stratton. 1688 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. II. IV. 141 They design to Bristol, but will take Exeter..in the way. 1691 T. H[ALE] Acc. New Invent. 21 Ships..designed on long Voyages. 1712 E. COOKE Voy. S. Sea 360 From Guam we design for Batavia. 1819 R. CHAPMAN Life Jas. V 129 This convinced them all that the king designed for France. 1823 SCOTT Quentin D. viii, On the succeeding day we were designed for Amboise. 1845 CARLYLE Cromwell (1871) II. 133 The new Lord Lieutenant had at first designed for Munster. b. transf. To intend to start upon a certain course; to mean to enter upon a pursuit. 1694 GIBSON in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 225 And if he designs for Law, ‘tis high time to begin. III. [allied to DESIGN n. II, It. disegnare, F. dessiner] To sketch, delineate, draw; to fashion artistically. 14. trans. a. To make a sketch of (an object or scene); to sketch, draw. Obs. b. To trace the outline of, delineate. (DESIGNMENT, implying the vb. in this sense, is quoted of 1570.) 1635 COWLEY Davideis I. 747 The Prophet Gad in learned Dust designs Th’ immortal solid Rules of fancy’d Lines. 1638 JUNIUS Painting of Ancients 290 Agood invention well designed and seasonably coloured. 1644 EVELYN Diary (1871) 69 The prospect was so tempting that I designed it with my crayon. 1699 LISTER Journ. Paris 53 In the Flore..they have designed..an Universal Map. 1782 MANN in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 421 Designing, painting..and describingevery Fish. 1879 STEVENSON Trav. Cevennes 211 The monstrous ribs and gullies of the mountain were faintly designed in the moonshine. c. To make the preliminary sketch of (a work of art, a picture, statue, ornamental fabric, etc.); to make the plans and drawings necessary for the construction of (a building, ship, machine, etc.), which the workmen have to follow out. 1697 EVELYN Numism. vii. 240 Mons. Morelli, who both Designets [? designes] and Ingraves the Medals. a1700 DRYDEN (J.), The prince designs The new elected seat, and draws the lines. 1743 Peterhouse College Order in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 37 In Consideration of his Designing..the new Building. 1893 Weekly Notes 89/1 To design and superintend the construction of the docks in question. 15. To plan and execute (a structure, work of art, etc.); to fashion with artistic skill ordecorative device; to furnish or adorn with a design. 1666 DRYDEN Ann. Mirab. clii, The weaver, charmed with what his loom designed. 1697 Virg. Past. v. 102 Behold, four hallow’d Altars we design. 1703 STEELE Tend. Husb. III. ii, However my Face is very prettily design’d today. 1853 KINGSLEY Hypatia v, Did Christians..design its statues and its frescoes? 1865 J. FERGUSSON Hist. Archit. I. I. IV. v. 346 The Roman bridges were designed on the same grand scale as their aqueducts. 1874 GREEN Short Hist. i. §6. 52 A lady summons him..to design a robe which she is embroidering. 16. intr. a. To trace the outline of a figure or form; to put a graphic representation on paper, canvas, etc.; to draw, sketch. b. To form or fashion a work of art; in a narrower sense, to form decorative figures, devise artistic patterns. 1662 EVELYN Chalcogr. 128 Unless he that Copies, Design perfectly himself. 1665 SIR T. HERBERT Trav. (1677) 149 One he knew could both design and copy well. 1854 RUSKIN Two Paths i. (1858) 44 A painter designs when he chooses some things, refuses others, and arranges all. 1885 H. V. BARNETT in Mag. of Art Sept. 454/1 She..began to design and to paint with delicacy, taste, and truth. (OED Online 2002: unpaged).
OED. 2002. OED Online. Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. 2nd ed, 1989. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Oxford University Press. URL: http://dictionary.oed.com/
Date accessed: 2002 January 18.
Def design noun [In 16th c. des(s)eigne, a. 15-16th c. F. desseing (in 16th c. also dessing, desing) ‘designe, purpose, proiect, priuat intention or determination’ (Cotgr.), f. desseigner to DESIGN. In 16th c. It. disegno(also dissegno, designo) had the senses ‘purpose, designe, draught; model, plot, picture, pourtrait’ (Florio). Hence the artistic sense was taken into Fr., and gradually differentiated in spelling, so that in mod.F. dessein is ‘purpose, plan’, dessin ‘design in art’. Eng. on the contrary uses design, conformed to the verb, in both senses.] I. A mental plan. 1. a. A plan or scheme conceived in the mind and intended for subsequent execution; the preliminary conception of an idea that is to be carried into effect by action; a project. 1593 HOOKER Eccl. Pol. I. xv. §4 (Spencer’s ed. 1611 p. 46) What the lawe of God hath, either for or against our disseignes. 1596 SPENSER F.Q. V. viii. 25 By counterfet disguise To their deseigne to make the easier way. 1625 PURCHAS Pilgrims II. 1293 The Emperor vndertaketh no high design without his approvement. 1738 WESLEY Psalms ii. 1 Why do the Jews and Gentiles join To execute a vain Design? a1843 SOUTHEY Inscriptions xli, What inexhaustive springs of public wealth The vast design required. 1848 MACAULAY Hist. Eng. I. 534 Grey..had concurred in the design of insurrection. b. ‘A scheme formed to the detriment of another’ (J.); a plan or purpose of attack upon or on. a1704 LOCKE (J.), A sedate, settled design upon another man’s life. 1704 CIBBER Careless Husb. II. i, To be in love, now, is only to have a design upon a woman, a modish way of declaring war against her virtue. 1848 MACAULAY Hist. Eng. I. 598 It was thought necessary to relinquish the design on Bristol. 1858 LYTTON What Will he do? I. i, He had no design on your pocket. 2. a. In weaker sense: Purpose, aim, intention. 1588 SHAKES. L.L.L. IV. i. 88 [Armado writes] Thine in the dearest designe of industrie. Ibid. V. i. 105. 1594 Rich. III, I. ii. 211 That it may please you leaue these sad designes To him that hath most cause to be a Mourner. 1659 B. HARRIS Parival’s Iron Age 108 They who ask relief, have one designe: and he who gives it, another. 1697 DRYDEN Virg. Past. VI. 37 He..demands On what design the Boys had bound his hands. 1734 tr. Rollin’s Anc. Hist. (1827) I. 344 With design to besiege it. 1736 BUTLER Anal. I. iii. Wks. 1874 I. 50 The design of this chapter is to inquire, how far this is the case. 1792 B. Munchhausen’s Trav. xxx. 135 They extended an elephant’s hide, tanned and prepared for the design, across the summit of the tower. 1866 G. MACDONALD Ann. Q. Neighb. xxxiii. (1878) 564 My design had been to go at once to London. b. = Intention to go. (Cf. DESIGN v.13.) 1725 DE FOE New Voy. (1840) 57 My design was to the north part of the island. c. phr. by (out of, on, upon) design: on purpose, purposely, intentionally. 1628 HOBBES Thucyd. (1822) 65 The man being upon design gone..into Sanctuary. 1650 FULLER Pisgah II. xii. 261 On design to extirpate all the smiths in Israel. 1665 MANLEY Grotius’ Low C. Warres 141 Either out ofDesign, or Simplicity. a1715 BURNET Own Time (1766) I. 4, I have, on design, avoided all laboured periods. 1867 FREEMAN Norm. Conq. (1876) I. App. 628 William, whether by accident or by design, was not admitted. 3. The thing aimed at; the end in view; the final purpose. [1605 SHAKES. Macb. II. i. 55 Wither’d Murther..towards his designe Moues like a Ghost.] 1657 CROMWELL in Four C. Eng. Lett. 86 We desire..that the design be Dunkirk rather than Grauelines. 1697 DRYDEN Virg. Georg. III. 604 If Milk be thy Design; with plenteous Hand Bring Clover-grass. 1711 LADY M. W. MONTAGU Lett. to W. Montagu 24 Mar., Happiness is the natural design of all the world. 1833 CHALMERS Const. Man (1835) I. iv. 187 Virtue was the design of our Creation. 4. Contrivance in accordance with a preconceived plan; adaptation of means to ends; pre-arranged purpose; spec.used in reference to the view that the universe manifests Divine forethought and testifies to an intelligent Creator (the argument from design). 1665 MANLEY Grotius’ Low C. Warres 141 Either out of Design, or Simplicity. 1736 [see DESIGNER 1]. 1802 PALEY Nat. Theol. ii. §3 The argument from design remains as it was. Ibid. ii. §4 The machine, which we are inspecting, demonstrates, by its construction, contrivance and design. 1831 BREWSTER Newton (1855) I. xiii. 359 The arrangements, therefore, upon which the stability of the system depends, must have been the result of design. 1855 TENNYSON Maud II. II. i, What a lovely shell..With delicate spire and whorl, How exquisitely minute, A miracle of design! 1883 HICKS (title), Critique of Design-Arguments. 5. In a bad sense: Crafty contrivance, hypocritical scheming; an instance of this. Cf. DESIGNING ppl. a. 2. arch. a1704 T. BROWN Praise of Poverty Wks. 1730 I. 94 Honesty (they think) design, and design honesty. 1719 DE FOE Crusoe I. xiv. (1858) 219 A..faithful..servant..without passions, sullenness, or designs. 1738 WESLEY Hymns, ‘Almighty Maker, God!’ vi, Thy Glories I abate, Or praise Thee with Design. 1796 BP. WATSON Apol. Bible 276 If this mistake proceeds from design you are still less fit. 1871 B. TAYLOR Faust (1875) I. v. 99 ‘Twas all deceit and lying, false design. II. A plan in art. 6. A preliminary sketch for a picture or other work of art; the plan of a building or any part of it, or the outline of a piece of decorative work, after which the actualstructure or texture is to be completed; a delineation, pattern. 1638 JUNIUS Painting of Ancients 270 What beauty and force there is in a good and proportionable designe. 1645 N. STONE Enchirid. Fortif. 78 Profile, An Italian word for that designe that showes the side..of any work. 1703 MOXON Mech. Exerc. 252 ‘Tis usual..for any person before he begins to Erect a Building, to have Designs or Draughts drawn upon Paper..in which Designs..each Floor or Story is delineated. 1793 SMEATON Edystone L. §278 The necessary designs for the iron rails of the balcony. 1821 W. M. CRAIG Drawing, Painting, etc. lect. I. 29 That these itinerant workmen had a certain set of designs, or rather patterns, handed down from generation to generation. Mod. The Committeeappointed to report on the designs sent in for the new Corn Exchange. 7. a. The combination of artistic details or architectural features which go to make up a picture, statue, building, etc.; the artistic idea as executed; a piece of decorative work, an artistic device. 1644 EVELYN Mem. (1857) I. 73, I was particularlydesirous of seeing this palace, from the extravagance of the design. 1670 SIR S. CROW in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 15 Their ordnary designes [in tapestry]..beeing deformed and mishapen. 1797 MRS. RADCLIFFE Italian Prol. (1826) 3 Simplicity and grandeur of design. 1851 D. WILSON Preh. Ann. (1863) II. III. v. 133 A silver bracelet of rare and most artistic design. 1863 GEO. ELIOT Romola II. vii, To admire the designs on the enamelled silver centres. 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 26 Sept. 4/1 It is the design that sells thecloth. b. transf. of literary work in this and prec. sense. 1875 EMERSON Lett. & Soc. Aims, Poet. & Imag. Wks. (Bohn) III. 153 Great design belongs to a poem, and is better than any skill of execution,but howrare! 1879 B. TAYLOR Stud. Germ. Lit. 262 His design is evidently greater than his power of execution. 8. The art of picturesque delineation and construction; original work in a graphic or plastic art. arts of design: those in which design plays a principal part, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, engraving. school of design: a school in which the arts of design are specially taught. 1638 JUNIUS Painting of Ancients 271 [From] Designe and Proportion..we should proceed to Colour. 1735 BERKELEY Querist §68 The art of design, and its influence in most trades or manufactures. 1850 J. LEITCH Müller’s Anc. Art §25. 9 Design or the graphic art..produces by means of light and shade the appearance of bodies on a surface. 1854 RUSKIN Two Paths i. (1858) 44 Design, properly so called, is human invention, consulting human capacity. 9. attrib. and Comb., as design book, consultant, engineer; design-conscious a. (see CONSCIOUS a. 12). 1936 Burlington Mag. Nov. 235/2 The silversmiths appear to have had in their minds the forms depicted in Germandesign-books. -- 1955 H. READ Grass Roots of Art (rev. ed.) vii. 137 The buying public..was becoming design-conscious. 1960 Guardian 30 Sept. 10/2 Plagiarism..is a rare headache to the design-conscious Scandinavian nations. -- 1954 H. READ Anarchy & Order 226 The attempt of certain artists to adapt themselves to the modern industrial system by calling themselves ‘design consultants’ has had no appreciable effect on the cultural situation. 1970 J. QUARTERMAIN Man who walked on Diamonds iv. 23 It was a design consultant’s idea of hell. -- 1964 F. L. WESTWATER Electronic Computers iii. 49 Not infrequently, a design engineer will ask the logical designer to make alterations for various reasons. -- (OED Online 2002: unpaged).
OED. 2002. OED Online. Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. 2nd ed, 1989. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Oxford University Press. URL: http://dictionary.oed.com/
Date accessed: 2002 January 18.
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def design Design (Page: 397) De*sign” (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Designed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Designing.] [F. désigner to designate, cf. F. dessiner to draw, dessin drawing, dessein a plan or scheme; all, ultimately, from L. designare to designate; de- + signare to mark, mark out, signum mark, sign. See Sign, and cf. Design, n., Designate.] 1. To draw preliminary outline or main features of; to sketch for a pattern or model; to delineate; to trace out; to draw. Dryden. 2. To mark out and exhibit; to designate; to indicate; to show; to point out; to appoint. We shall see Justice design the victor’s chivalry. Shak. Meet me to-morrow where the master And this fraternity shall design. Beau. & Fl. 3. To create or produce, as a work of art; to form a plan or scheme of; to form in idea; to invent; to project; to lay out in the mind; as, a man designs an essay, a poem, a statue, or a cathedral. 4. To intend or purpose; -- usually with for before the remote object, but sometimes with to. Ask of politicians the end for which laws were originally designed. Burke. He was designed to the study of the law. Dryden. Syn. -- To sketch; plan; purpose; intend; propose; project; mean. Design (Page: 397) De*sign”, v. i. To form a design or designs; to plan. Design for, to intend to go to. [Obs.] From this city she designed for Collin [Cologne].” Evelyn. [398] Design (Page: 398) De*sign” (?), n. [Cf. dessein, dessin.] 1. A preliminary sketch; an outline or pattern of the main features of something to be executed, as of a picture, a building, or a decoration; a delineation; a plan. 2. A plan or scheme formed in the mind of something to be done; preliminary conception; idea intended to be expressed in a visible form or carried into action; intention; purpose; -- often used in a bad sense for evil intention or purpose; scheme; plot. The vast design and purpos of the King. Tennyson. The leaders of that assembly who withstood the designs of abesotted woman. Hallam. A . . . settled design upon another man’s life. Locke. How little he could guess the secret designs of the court! Macaulay. 3. Specifically, intention or purpose as revealed or inferred from the adaptation of means to an end; as, the argument from design. 4. The realization of an inventive or decorative plan; esp., a work of decorative art considered as a new creation; conception or plan shown in completed work; as, this carved panel is a fine design, or of a fine design. 5. (Mus.) The invention and conduct of the subject; the disposition of every part, and the general order of the whole. Arts of design, those into which the designing of artistic forms and figures enters as a principal part, as architecture, painting, engraving, sculpture. -- School of design, one in which are taught the invention and delineation of artistic or decorative figures, patterns, and the like. Syn. -- Intention; purpose; scheme; project; plan; idea. -- Design, Intention, Purpose. Design has reference to something definitely aimed at. Intention points to the feelings or desires with which a thing is sought. Purpose has reference to a settled choice or determination for its attainment. I had no design to injure you, “ means it was no part of my aim or object. I had no intention to injure you, “ means, I had no wish or desire of that kind. My purpose was directly the reverse, “ makes the case still stronger. Is he a prudent man . . . that lays designs only for a day, without any prospect to the remaining part of his life? Tillotson. I wish others the same intention, and greater successes. Sir W. Temple. It is the purpose that makes strong the vow. Shak. (ARTFL Webster’s 1913: 397-8)
ARTFL Webster’s. 1913. Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (G & C. Merriam Co., 1913, edited by Noah Porter). ARTFL (Project for American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language). Chicago: Divisions of the Humanities, University of Chicago. URL: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/webster.form.html
Date accessed: 2002 January 18.
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def design: design Part of speech: transitive verb Syllables: de-sign Pronunciation: dih zain Inflections: designed, designing, designs Definition: 1. to make or draw plans for, esp. the structure or form of: Synonyms: plan, engineer (1;2), map out{map (3)} Similar Words: plot1, scheme, devise, block out {block}, frame, formulate, forge1, shape, draft, outline, sketch, blueprint Example: He designed a new welfare system. Definition: 2. to conceive; invent. Synonyms: invent (1), conceive (1), dream up {dream (PHR)}, formulate (2) Similar Words: contrive, create, innovate, originate, coin, hatch1, form. Definition: 3. to intend for a specific goal or purpose: Synonyms: earmark (1), intend (2), target Similar Words: aim at {aim (vi)}, reserve Example: a program designed to educate the public. Part of speech: intransitive verb Definition: to createplans or designs. Synonyms: plan, devise, contrive Similar Words: scheme Part of speech: noun Definition: 1. a plan or outline showing how something is to be built or carried out. Synonyms: plan (2;3), scheme (2, 3), blueprint (2), strategy (1), layout (1), draft (2), program (1) Similar Words: schematic, map, sketch, outline, diagram, agenda Definition: 2. an artistic rendering; drawing. Synonyms: drawing (1), picture (1) Similar Words: portrayal, painting, sketch Definition: 3. pattern: Synonyms: pattern (1;2) Similar Words: print, motif, shape, figure, detail, decoration Example: a floral design. Definition: 4. the art of creating drawings: Similar Words: art, drawing, painting, graphics, graphic arts Example: He is studying design. Definition: 5. end; purpose. Synonyms: goal (1), purpose (1), aim (2), intention (2), objective (1), purport (2) Similar Words: end, reason, hope, dream, wish, ambition, aspiration, destination, target, mark1, desire Definition: 6. (often pl.) scheme or plot. Synonyms: plan (1), intentions (4), scheme (1), plot1 (2) Similar Words: cabal (Wordsmyth 1999: unpaged).
Wordsmyth. 1999. The Wordsmyth Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus. [WEDT]. Robert Parks, ed. Chicago: Wordsmyth Collaboratory. URL: http://www.wordsmyth.net/
Date accessed: 1999 February 2.
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def design. de·sign [di zn ] verb (past de·signed, past participle de·signed, present participle de·sign·ing, 3rd person present singular de·signs) 1.transitive and intransitive verb create detailed plan of something:to work out or create the form or structure of something 2.transitive and intransitive verb plan and make something:to plan and make something in a skillful or artistic way 3.transitive verbintend for a use:to intend something for a particular purpose The scholarship was designed to aid foreign students. 4.transitive verb invent:to contrive, devise, or plan something noun (plural de·signs) 1.way something is made:the way in which something is planned and made 2.picture of something’s form and structure:a drawing or other graphical representation of somethingthat shows how it is to be made 3. decorative pattern:a pattern or shape, sometimes repeated, used for decoration 4.process of designing:the process and techniques of designing things 5.scheme:a plan or scheme for something 6.something planned:something that is planned or intended plural noun de·signs selfish or dishonest plan:a secretive plan undertaken for selfish or dishonest motivesThey had designs on her job. [14th century. From, ultimately, Latin designare (see designate ).] de·sign·a·ble adjective by design intentionally or onpurpose. (Encarta 2000: Unpaged)
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1 design vb -ED/-ING/-S [MF designer, fr. L designare, lit., to mark out, fr. de- + signare to mark -- more at SIGN] vt 1 a : to conceive and plan out in themind “a savage on seeing a watch would at once conclude that it was designed -- Samuel Butler +1902 “ b : DEVOTE, CONSIGN, DESTINE “a city designed to destruction” “grants designed in his will for making amends” c : to make up one’s mind to set apart : settle in mind to reserve “mementos of his travels that he had designed for friends” d : to plan or have in mind as a purpose : INTEND, PURPOSE, CONTEMPLATE “he was sociable by disposition, and I believe he designed particularly to shine in the world of talk and manners -- Osbert Sitwell” “when some other foreign power designed division or seizure -- Roger Burlingame” e archaic : to have in mind or include as a matter of consideration f : to devise or propose for a specific function “a book designed primarily as a college textbook” “a program obviously designed as a first approach to this problem” g : to create, plan, or calculate for serving a predetermined end : prepare or lay out deliberately “the challenging problem of designing a college curriculum for young women” “a little group of members which is designed for study, propaganda, and energetic canvassing -- R.M.Dawson” “ designed to form a frame for what was to come after -- E.M.Lustgarten” 2 a obs : to indicate with a distinctive mark or sign b archaic : to indicate by name or distinctive phrase c : to designate for office or function “ designing a friend to act as substitute” “the other parties named and designed in the summons” d archaic : ASSIGN, GRANT 3[MF desseigner, fr. It disegnare, fr. L designare] a archaic : to make a drawing or sketch of (an object or scene) b : to outline or sketch in proportion for creating a work of art or to serve as a pattern in the practical arts “she has designed the dances for several Broadway hits” “a curious woman whose dresses always looked as if they had been designed in a rage -- OscarWilde” c : to plan and plot out the shape and disposition of the parts of and the structural constituents of : draw the plans for “he designed many buildings and bridges” d : to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan “he was also a clever artist and designed scenes with a flair for color -- Winifred Bambrick” “buildings of the institution are so designed that each patient’s room opens upon a porch -- Amer. Guide Series: Mich.” e : to originate, draft, and work out, set up, or set forth : DEVISE, CONTRIVE “a landscaping authority to design the city’s park system” “can start to design and execute a foreign policy without fear -- H.W.Barber” “like most Communist propaganda it was very cleverly designed -- Patrick McMahon” “knows how to design a part so that it develops and acquires momentum in performance -- Brooks Atkinson” f : to plan or produce with special intentional adaptation to a specific end -- used in passive or participial form “statutes are designed to meet the fugitive exigencies of the hour -- B.N.Cardozo” “slogans are normally designed to get action without reflection -- A.E.Stevenson b.1900” “marriage was a social institution designed to fit instinct into a legal framework --Bertrand Russell” “would do it for $5000, a price [.....] designed to discourage offers -- Elsa Maxwell” vi 1 : to conceive a plan for making something 2 : to draw, lay out, or otherwise prepare a design or designs “those who design for the home” “in designing for motion pictures there is also the problem of geography -- Cedric Gibbons” : a : to draw a preliminary figure, outline, or sketch (as for a machine, structure, or work of art) b : to fashion a work of art c : to fashion a decorative figure or pattern 3 : to plan or intend to start out on a trip or course “this ship designs for Guam” “the young man designs for law” syn see INTEND, 1PLAN 2design n -S [MF dessein, fr. It disegno, fr. disegnare to mark out] 1 : a mental project or scheme in whichmeans to an end are laid down : PLAN “morality also, like religion, is a product of human design -- Benjamin Farrington” “had no rivals among the secular rulers of Europe for largeness of designs -- R.W.Southern” 2 a : a particular purpose held in view by an individual or group : a planned intention “my design in writing this preface is to forestall certain critics” “he has ambitious designs for his son” b : deliberate purposive planning “what superficially may appear to be a masterpiece of design was likely to have been just an empirical policy of muddling through -- Times Lit. Supp.” “his clumsiness is due to inattention rather than design “ “battle was joined apparently more by accident than design -- John Buchan” also : direction toward an ultimate end “the teleological, which shows the marks of design in nature, and from them argues to a great designer -- Encyc. Americana” -- opposed to accident 3 a : a deliberate undercover project or scheme entertained with discreditable or hostile and often dishonest, treacherous, sinister, or seductive intent “each camp accusing the other of imperialist designs” “eager to ferret out any subversive design “ “a declaration of a design upon his life -- John Locke” b designspl : such a scheme contemplating some rapacious or disruptive aggression or some illicit encroachment -- used with on or against “the United States has no [.....] designs against any of its neighbors anywhere -- A.H.Vandenberg +1951” “has designs on the money” 4 : a preliminary sketch or outline (as a drawing on paper or a modeling in clay) showing the main features of something to be executed : DELINEATION “a textile design and its specificationsconstitute the complete working plan for the manufacture of a fabric -- Alfred Higgins & R.L.La Vault” 5 a : a painter or sculptor’s preliminary drawing or model “he made two or three charming and blasphemous designs -- W.B.Yeats” b : a scheme for the construction, finish, and ornamentation of a building asembodied in the plans, elevations, and other architectural drawings pertaining to it c : a conceptual outline or sketch according to which the elements of a literary or dramatic composition or series are disposed “his sense ofstructure, both in the general design of Paradise Lost and Samson, and in his syntax -- T.S.Eliot” “it is now widely agreed that such compositions as Moby Dick and Billy Budd are complete designs -- Nathalia Wright” “the main designs of the poem, an imaginative control of dispersed material -- Times Lit. Supp.” d : a settled coherent program followed or imposed usu : an underlying scheme that governs functioning, developing or unfolding : PATTERN, MOTIF “his ad-libbing [.....] is not unfortified by design because he is far too fine a professional ever to trust entirely to chance -- John Mason Brown” “whether or not there be a design , [.....] in nature, a man’s biography frequently discloses haunting glimpses of a pattern -- Perry Miller” 6 a : the arrangement of elements that make up a work of art, a machine, or other man-made object“systematic art instruction begins with the study of design , which includes little except the perception and creation of formal relations -- Hunter Mead” “made her decide to introduce choreographic design into her free skating -- Current Biog.” b : the process of selecting the means and contriving the elements, steps, and procedures for producing what will adequately satisfy some need “industrial design “ “included in design are the arrangement of the basic text page, choice of typeface, title page, and special pages -- Joseph Blumenthal” specif : the drawing up of specifications as to structure, forms, positions, materials, texture, accessories, decorations in the form of a layout for setting up, building, or fabrication “the design of the ship’s bridge” “his experiments were noted for their simple design “ “the problems of stability were corrected by better design in duplicating equipment -- R.O.Jordan” c : structural constitution or fundamental framework of a musical composition “unacceptable to our sense of melodic design -- P.H.Lang” “inflated music with ambitious and mystical programmatic designs -- Nicolas Slonimsky” 7 a : a visual arrangement or disposition of lines, parts, figures, details usu. unified by an implicit key or clue of signification or an artistic motif (as in engravings, medals, textiles, metalwork) “linoleum in a great number of designs” “the designs on the reverse of our coins” “an iron balustrade with a design of bows and arrows that rises from the eaves of the house -- Amer. Guide Series: Maine” b : a pattern or figuration applied to a surface (as of a vase) : DECORATION “porcelain with carved or engraved floral designs” “a gold-tooled design impressed on bookbindings” syn see INTENTION, PLAN 3design adj : used as a basis for anticipating practical problems and solving them at the engineering stage -- used chiefly in highway designing “the design speed of a highway” (Webster’s Unabridged 2002: unpaged)
Webster’s Unabridged. 2002. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster.
Webster’s Unabridged is America’s premier lexicographical work. This electronic version comprises the text of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, published in 1961, and subsequent updates which take account of current usage.
The Merriam-Webster company has continued to update its files since publication of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. The source data for this electronic version of Webster’s Unabridged was obtained in 1996 and so includes additional material and addenda included since publication of both the original 1961 edition and the updated 1993 edition. This version appears in electronic form for the first time.
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design 1 plan, scheme, purpose XVI; plan for a work of art XVII. Earliest forms des(e)igne, disseigne — F. †desseing, †des(s)ing (mod. dessein), f. †desseigner (see next).
Hoad, T. F., editor. 1996. “design1” The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford University Press. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press. Date accessed: 14 July 2003. URL: http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t27.004153
design 2 A. point out, designate; B. plan, purpose, intend XVI; C. delineate, drawXVII. In form — F. désigner indicate, designate, and L. dsignre mark out, point out, delineate, depict, contrive, DESIGNATE. All the meanings derive ult. from the L. word, but sense B has been affected by DESIGN 1 and F. †desseigner, sense C by F. dessiner, †dessigner (an alt. of desseigner after It. disignare). So designate †indicated XV (once), marked out or selected for office, appointed or nominated XVII. — L. dsigntus, pp. of dsignre, f. DE- 3 + signre mark, SIGN; see -ATE 2. designate vb. appoint or nominate for office XVIII; point out, name XIX. f. pp. stem of L. dsignre; see -ATE 3. designation XIV. — (O)F. or L.
Hoad, T. F., editor. 1996. “design2“ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford University Press. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press. Date accessed 14 July 2003. URL: http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t27.004154
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