Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of made

made(adj.)

late 14c., "created, wrought, fabricated, constructed" (of words, stories, etc.), from Middle English maked, from Old English macod "made," past participle of macian "to make" (see make (v.)). From 1570s as "artificially produced, formed independently of natural development."

To be a made man "placed beyond the reach of want, assured of reward or success" is in Marlowe's "Faust" (1590). To have it made (1955) is American English colloquial. Made-to-order (adj.) "made according to the customer's specifications" is by 1905 in advertisements, from the verbal phrase. Grose's dictionary of slang and cant (1785) has for this word a tart definition: "MADE. Stolen. Cant."

Made up (adj.) in earliest use was "consummate, accomplished" (c. 1600), but this is obsolete. As "put together from parts from various sources" it is by 1670s. As "artificially prepared for the purpose of deception," by 1773. Of minds, "settled, decided," by 1788.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to made

make(v.)

Old English macian "to give being to, give form or character to, bring into existence; construct, do, be the author of, produce; prepare, arrange, cause; behave, fare, transform," from West Germanic *makōjanan "to fashion, fit" (source also of Old Saxon makon, Old Frisian makia "to build, make," Middle Dutch and Dutch maken, Old High German mahhon "to construct, make," German machen "to make"), from PIE root *mag- "to knead, fashion, fit." If so, sense evolution perhaps is via prehistoric houses built of mud. It gradually replaced the main Old English word, gewyrcan (see work (v.)).

Meaning "to arrive at" (a place), first attested 1620s, originally was nautical. Formerly used in many places where specific verbs now are used, such as to make Latin (c. 1500) "to write Latin compositions." This broader usage survives in some phrases, such as make water "to urinate" (c. 1400), make a book "arrange a series of bets" (1828), make hay "to turn over mown grass to expose it to sun." Make the grade is 1912, perhaps from the notion of railway engines going up an incline.

Read the valuable suggestions in Dr. C.V. Mosby's book — be prepared to surmount obstacles before you encounter them — equipped with the power to "make the grade" in life's climb. [advertisement for "Making the Grade," December 1916]

But the phrase also was in use in a schoolwork context at the time.

To make friends is from late 14c.; to make good "make right" is from early 15c. To make do "manage with what is available" is attested by 1867; to make for "direct one's course to, proceed toward" is from 1580s, but "Not frequent before the 19th c." [OED]. To make of "think, judge" is from c. 1300. To make off "run away, depart suddenly" is from 1709; to make off with "run away with (something) in one's possession" is by 1820. To make way is from c. 1200 as "cut a path," early 14c. as "proceed, go."

Make time "go fast" is 1849; make tracks in this sense is from 1834. To make a federal case out of (something) was popularized in 1959 movie "Anatomy of a Murder;" to make an offer (one) can't refuse is from Mario Puzo's 1969 novel "The Godfather." To make (one's) day is by 1909; menacing make my day is from 1971, popularized by Clint Eastwood in film "Sudden Impact" (1983). Related: Made; making.

hand-made(adj.)

also handmade, 1610s, from hand (n.) + made. Old English had handworht "hand-wrought."

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trends of made

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

self-made

1610s, "made by ones own actions or efforts," from self- + made. Self-made man is attested from 1826, American English; the notion is "having attained material success in life without extraneous advantages." This expression, in the sense in which I here use it, is perhaps peculi

canvas

"sturdy cloth made from hemp or flax," mid-14c., from Anglo-French canevaz, Old North French canevach, Old French chanevaz..."canvas," literally "made of hemp, hempen," noun use of Vulgar Latin adjective *cannapaceus "made of hemp," from Latin cannabis...Latin adjectives in -aceus sometimes were made in Romanic languages into nouns of augmentative or pejorative force....

champagne

effervescent wine, 1660s, from French, short for vin de Champagne "wine made in Champagne," the former province in northeast...wine from this region (especially from the vineyards south of Reims), the sense then narrowed to the "sparkling" wines made...there (the effervescence is artificially produced), and by late 18c. expanded to effervescent wines made anywhere....

Stilton

1736 in reference to a cheese made famous by a coaching inn at Stilton on the Great North Road from London, the owner being...from Leicestershire, where the cheese was made....Since 1969 restricted to cheese made in Leicester, Derby, and Nottingham counties by members of the Stilton Cheese Makers...

taper

languages for "wick of a candle" (such as Old Italian dialectal (Tuscany) papijo, papeio "wick"), because these often were made...Compare also German kerze "candle," from Old High German charza, from Latin charta, from Greek khartēs "papyrus, roll made...from papyrus, wick made from pith of papyrus."...

ceruse

The term also was applied generally to white pigments made from other ingredients, as in Trevisa's translation of Bartolomaeus...Cerusa is y made of tyn as it is y made of leed."...

recent

early 15c., "recently made," of foods, etc., "fresh, newly made," from Latin recentem (nominative recens) "lately done or...made, of recent origin, new, fresh, young," from re- (see re-) + PIE root *ken- "fresh, new, young" (source also of Greek...

render

late 14c., rendren, rendre, "repeat, say again, recite; translate," from Old French rendre "give back, present, yield" (10c.) and Medieval Latin rendere, from Vulgar Latin *rendere, a variant of Latin reddere "give back, return, restore," from red- "back" (see re-) + combining fo

change

c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),

name

"word by which a person or thing is denoted," Old English nama, noma "name, reputation," from Proto-Germanic *naman- (source also of Old Saxon namo, Old Frisian nama, Old High German namo, German Name, Middle Dutch name, Dutch naam, Old Norse nafn, Gothic namo "name"), from PIE r

Share made

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trending

Dictionary entries near made

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.