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单词 earnest
释义

earnestn.1

Brit. /ˈəːnᵻst/, U.S. /ˈərnəst/
Forms: early Old English eornęst, early Old English eornist, Old English earnost (rare), Old English eornast, Old English eornust, Old English eornyst, Old English–early Middle English eornest, Old English–early Middle English eornost, Middle English arneste, Middle English earneste, Middle English eernest, Middle English eornest, Middle English erneste, Middle English erneyst, Middle English ernist, Middle English ernys, Middle English (in a late copy) ernyst, Middle English ȝorneste, Middle English vrnest, Middle English–1500s ernes, Middle English–1500s ernest, Middle English–1500s hernest, 1500s earnes, 1500s– earnest; U.S. regional 1800s– airnest, 1800s– arnest, 1800s– yearnest; also Scottish pre-1700 earnist, pre-1700 ernyst, 1800s– eernest, 1900s– yirnest, 1900s– yirrnist.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian ernst seriousness, Old Dutch ernust intensity, force (Middle Dutch ernst battle, seriousness, effort, perseverance, diligence), Old Saxon ernust serious matter (Middle Low German ērnst , ērnest , ērenst seriousness, severity, anger), Old High German ernust zeal, energy, determination, seriousness (Middle High German ernest , ernst battle, seriousness, sincerity, steadfastness, German Ernst ), probably < a suffixed form (apparently showing a variant of -t suffix3) of the Germanic base of Old Icelandic ern brisk, vigorous, Gothic arniba (adverb) sure, certain, further etymology uncertain. Compare earnest adj.Loss of final -t in the Middle English forms ernes, ernys is probably due either to mutual influence with earnest n.2 or to alteration after -ness suffix. Alternatively perhaps compare Middle English yernes eagerness (apparently < yern adj. + -ness suffix; perhaps a reflex of Old English geornnes eagerness, desire) and also erne , variant of yern adj., but these are too rare to be a likely influence.
1.
a. Seriousness; serious intention, as opposed to jest or play; (formerly also) †a serious matter (obsolete). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > melancholy > seriousness or solemnity > [noun]
earnestOE
sadnessc1350
serious1440
seriouste1440
demurity1483
seriosity?a1505
gravity1509
demureness?1518
seriousness1530
solemness1530
sobriety1548
staidness1561
graveness1577
gravidad1641
earnestness1670
substantialness1683
solemnity1712
smilelessness1844
unsmilingness1873
humourlessness1890
straightfacedness1982
OE Wulfstan Institutes of Polity (Corpus Cambr. 201) 61 Heardlic eornost and wislic wærscipe..bið witena gehwilcum weorðlicre micele, þonne he his wisan for ænigum þingum fagige to swiðe.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. l. 462 (MED) Betwen ernest and game Ful ofte it torneth other wise.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 2504 It is an ernes and no game.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 14 Arneste, or erneste, seryowste, seriositas.
a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) l. 1709 (MED) Glade vs, o Lord..And make vs of this grete ernest a game!
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xiv. 328 Is it erneste that ye speke?
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 30 A noble man in Sienna, disposed to iest with a Gentlewoman of meane birth, yet excellent qualities, betweene game and earnest gan thus to salute hir.
1645 J. Milton Colasterion 23 I deal not now with this caitif, never worth my earnest, & now not seasonable for my jest.
1687 R. L'Estrange Brief Hist. Times I. 164 A little Skirting now and then, upon the Narratives; and Bantering, betwixt Jest and Earnest, upon the Credit of the Witnesses.
1767 D. Hume Let. 13 June in A. Smith Corr. (1977) civ. 126 My Regard for himself..wou'd certainly restrain me from either Joke or Earnest, which coud be offensive to him.
1814 W. S. Mason Statist. Acct. or Parochial Surv. of Ireland I. 594 Some ridiculous and impious means are used, between joke and earnest, to dive into the secrets of futurity.
1952 M. K. Wilson tr. K. Z. Lorenz King Solomon's Ring x. 125 This quarrel, in whose joking tone some earnest was intermixed, found the most natural compromise possible.
b. in (formerly also †for, †on) earnest: earnestly, with serious intent; (also) in reality, actually; fully, properly. to be in earnest: (of a person) to be earnest or serious; to be emphatically sincere.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > wish or inclination > willingness > [adverb] > earnestly
in (formerly also for, on) earnestOE
earnestlyOE
prestc1400
serious1853
OE Wulfstan Sermo ad Anglos (Nero) (1957) 272 Us eallum to woroldscame, gif we on eornost ænige cuþon ariht understandan.
c1175 ( Ælfric Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 44 Ȝif ðu swa ne dest on eornost, ic wulle habban eft æt þe þæt ic ðe ær forȝeaf.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9012 Þa iseȝen Irisce men þat Brutten wes an eornest. feond-liche heo fuhten.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 411 Adam is to eue cumen. More for erneste dan for gamen.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Friar's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 327 Is this youre wyl in ernest þt ye seye.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 2163 (MED) Þis contek, in ernes and no game, Iuparted was betwixe Loue and Schame.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) v. §6. 19 Til perfite man it falles not to leghe nouther in ernest ne in gamen.
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Eiv In earnes, a certes, For earnes, pour certes, Of earnes, de certes.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 176 Ffor ertyng his exile in ernest.
1646 J. Hall Horæ Vacivæ 90 When a man is in earnest, he stands upon his guard; in mirth he lies open unfenc't.
1665 R. Brathwait Comment Two Tales Chaucer 30 What this deep Soothsayer prediction'd before in jest, he now cals for in earnest.
1726 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. x. 184 It never in earnest comes into their Thoughts.
1769 F. Brooke Hist. Emily Montague II. cxxi. 234 A consideration which should..set us in earnest on improving every advantage we enjoy.
1833 in K. Laybourn Brit. Trade Unionism (1991) 37 No party can or will relieve us from the tremendous evils which we suffer.., until we begin in earnest to act for ourselves.
1850 C. Dickens David Copperfield xix. 196 My first master will succeed me—I am in earnest at last—so you'll soon have to arrange our contracts.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. x. 66 Enormous difficulties may be overcome when they are attacked in earnest.
1901 B. T. Washington Up from Slavery (1902) vi. 104 They were so much in earnest that only the ringing of the retiring-bell would make them stop studying.
1981 A. Schlee Rhine Journey v. 50 Charlotte persisted in such earnest that without releasing Marion's hand, she slid onto her knees beside the bed.
1983 New Scientist 1 Dec. 716/2 In the unlikely event that someone thinks I am not being entirely serious in what follows, I must say that I am in earnest.
2013 Guardian 29 Nov. 44/4 The Christmas shopping season will kick off in earnest today.
c. Hence in good (alsogreat, etc.) earnest. Cf. also in sad earnest at sad adj., n., and adv. Phrases 1.
ΚΠ
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 182 They began in good ernest the deduyte that is vsed in the amerouse lyf.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxv Kyng Edward and his counsaill, tooke the matter in greate earnest, and seriously wrote to Duke Charles, that [etc.].
1570 Mariage Witte & Sci. iv. i. sig. Di But in good earnest Madam, speake of or on.
1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie 43 I can with as great ease perswade my self that the blowes which are struck are given in good earnest.
1745 J. Wesley Answer to Rev. Church 15 I am in great Earnest when I declare once more, that I have a deep conviction.
1766 W. Cowper Let. 20 Oct. (1979) I. 153 After Tea we sally forth to walk in good earnest.
1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. i. vi. 198 It was no feint, but a surprise meditated in good earnest.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 198 Are you in jest or in real earnest?
1926 E.A. Powell In Barbary xi. 191 When the dunes walk in good earnest, as in the core of a real sandstorm, nothing can avert them.
1993 S. Marshall Nest of Magpies (1994) x. 78 To make matters worse, it now began to snow in good earnest.
†2. Ardour in battle; (more widely) intense passion or desire. Obsolete.In quot. OE in on eornost (‘fiercely, ardently’).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > passion > ardour or fervour > [noun]
heatc825
earnestOE
fervour1340
ardourc1386
fever heata1398
burning1398
lowea1425
fervencec1430
ferventnessc1430
flame1548
ardency1549
fervency1554
fire1579
calenture1596
inflammation1600
warmth1600
brimstonea1616
incandescence1656
fervidness1692
candency1723
glow1748
white heat1814
hwyl1899
society > armed hostility > armed forces > [noun] > qualities
earnestOE
steadiness1666
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xiv. 15 Him on beræsde & on eornost hi sloh [L. percussitque eos] & afligde ða lafe.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8224 Þer wes feht swiþe stor eornest ful sturne.
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) 8218 Hii..bi-gonne þare to fihte mid folle ȝorneste.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2575 Vortimer wiþ gret poer & wiþ gret ernest ynou..aȝen þis heþene drou.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 4838 Whanne they han her lust geten The hoote Ernes they al foryeten.
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 1287 The hote ernest [a1450 Tanner heruest] is al ouerblowe.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

earnestn.2

Brit. /ˈəːnᵻst/, U.S. /ˈərnəst/
Forms:

α. early Middle English earnnesse (dative), early Middle English ernesse (dative), Middle English eernes, Middle English ernes, Middle English ernys, Middle English eernys, Middle English (in a late copy) hernes, 1500s yernes; English regional 1800s– arness (Shropshire).

β. Middle English arneste, Middle English ernyste, Middle English 1600s arnest, Middle English–1500s ernyst, Middle English–1600s ernest, 1500s erneste, 1500s– earnest; English regional 1800s yernest (Northamptonshire), 1800s– arenest (Isle of Wight), 1800s– arnest, 1800s– yarnest, 1800s– yarnst (Cheshire), 1800s– yearnst (Isle of Wight); also Scottish 1700s earnist.

Origin: Of uncertain origin. Probably a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymons: arles n., erres n.
Etymology: Origin uncertain; probably originally an alteration of either arles n. (compare forms at that entry) or erres n., perhaps by association with formations in -ness suffix. Compare Anglo-Norman ernes , ernis , ernest , ernist (13th cent.), probably < or after English. Compare arrha n.The final -t of the β. forms is probably excrescent (compare e.g. alongst prep., amongst prep., etc.), although these forms also reflect association with earnest n.1 and earnest adj. Welsh ernes (c1400) is < English. Quot. 1221 at sense 1 may reflect the Anglo-Norman rather than the Middle English word, although if so it would probably still constitute evidence for earlier currency of the English word.
1. Money, or a sum of money, paid as an initial instalment, esp. for the purpose of securing a bargain or contract. †Formerly also in on (also in) earnest: by way of earnest, as an instalment (obsolete).Now chiefly legal contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > promise > [noun] > pledge or assurance
wordOE
costOE
earnest1221
fayc1300
certainty1303
wager1306
plighta1325
pledge1371
assurancec1386
undertaking?a1400
faithc1405
surementc1410
to make affiancec1425
earnest pennya1438
warrant1460
trow1515
fidelity1531
stipulation1552
warranty1555
pawn1573
arrha1574
avouchment1574
assumption1590
word of honour1598
avouch1603
assecurance1616
preassurance1635
tower-stamp1642
parole of honour1648
spondence1657
honour1659
society > trade and finance > payment > [noun] > payment by instalment or part-payment > an instalment > earnest money
earnest money1349
earnest1424
earnest penny1454
arles1487
bargain-penny1490
handsel1569
impress-money1617
depositum1623
fasting penny1650
deposit1737
arrha1754
handsale1766
fastening penny1811
sign-on1922
1221 in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1888) 5 (MED) Si dicti homines emerint..merchandisam ubi ernes dederint.
1424 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 59 I haue paied him a noble on ernest.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 14 Arneste, or hanselle [1499 Pynson or ernest; a1500 King's Cambr. ansal].
1454 in E. Hobhouse Church-wardens' Accts. (1890) 96 (MED) For an ernyste to J. Hykkes in makyng of segs jd.
1463 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 157 Item, my mastyr payd to hym in ernest that schuld make my ladys cloke, iij.s. iiij.d.
1498–9 Nottingham Borough Court Bk. No. 1378. 5 Reseyved of ernys iijd.
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 685 As ye see,..after all bargaines, there is a signe thereof made, eyther clapping of hands..or giving some earnest.
1633 T. Adams Comm. 2 Peter (i. 11) 232 An earnest seales the bargaine, a handfull of corne is given to assure the whole field.
1659 H. L'Estrange Alliance Divine Offices 295 Why is not the subarration, the giving of earnest, reciprocal and mutual? Why doth not the woman give somewhat to the man.., as he the Ring to her?
1721 in Aberdeen Jrnl. Notes & Queries (1915) 8 77/1 Given Thomas Spark 6 shil. in earnist to be my halfnets man in the Reack next yeir.
1800 A. Addison Rep. Cases Pennsylvania 133 Plaintiff paid a guinea earnest.
1845 H. J. Stephen New Comm. Laws Eng. II. 69 If such portion be accepted by way of earnest.
1988 L. Cox tr. M. I. Braginskii in O. N. Sadikov Soviet Civil Law xix. 201 If the buyer refuses to go through with the purchase of the picture, he may not demand the 500 rubles paid as earnest.
2013 Financial Law Reporter (New Delhi) (Nexis) 15 Apr. Though the contract stipulated that a sum of Rs. 20,000 should be paid as earnest, the buyer did not pay any amount by way of earnest.
2. figurative. A pledge, foretaste, or indication of something to come.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > [noun] > preview, foretaste
arlesc1220
earnestc1225
forelook1357
foresight1422
foretaste1435
earnest pennya1438
before-tasting1526
prelibation1526
tasting1526
promise?1533
say1549
to-looka1572
handsel1573
assay1597
antepast1604
prefruitiona1631
cue1647
pregustation1656
pregustator1670
scene1691
tint1768
outlook1823
fore-view1831
preview1882
c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) 149 Nu þu schalt on alre earst as on ernesse swa beon ibeaten wið bittere besmen.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. i. 22 That markide vs, and ȝaf a wed, or eernes [L. pignus], of the spirit in oure hertis.
c1400 Comm. on Canticles (Bodl. 288) in T. Arnold Sel. Eng. Wks. J. Wyclif (1871) III. 61 He hadde answere of God þat was eernes herto.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 142 Crist toke ernes here in þis world.
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. clxxviii Thy ernest is layde, the bargen must abyde It may nat be broke.
1528 W. Tyndale That Fayth Mother of All Good Workes f. xxi God..hath put in me hys spryte, as an erneste of hys promyses.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. v. 65 It is an earnest of a farther good. View more context for this quotation
1658 G. Starkey Pyrotechny 72 Joshuah received the Bunch of Grapes, as an earnest of the Promised Land.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 432. ⁋12 The Earnest given me of something further intended in my Favour.
1757 M. Postlethwayt Great Britain's True Syst. Introd. p. lviii I wish it, not only as an honorary and undeserved Recompense to myself, but as an Earnest of Encouragement to others.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion i. 42 The primrose flower Peeped forth, to give an earnest of the Spring. View more context for this quotation
a1830 J. Mackintosh Life T. More in Wks. (1846) I. 397 The enthusiastic admiration with which the superior few feel an earnest of their own higher powers.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xcv. 144 The days she never can forget Are earnest that he loves her yet. View more context for this quotation
1951 S. J. Perelman Let. 23 Nov. in Don't tread on Me (1987) 119 As an earnest and token of what awaits you in your new career of penwoman, they'd made 103 changes in the opening pieces.
2008 New Yorker 26 May 84/3 The vanguard, whose alienated, conspiratorial, happy-few solidarity is an earnest of revolutionary rectitude.

Phrases

† slang. tip me my earnest: give me my share. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1665 R. Head Eng. Rogue I. iv. 32 Tip me my Earnest, Give me my part or share.
1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 37 Tip me my Earnest, Give me my Share or Divident.
1725 New Canting Dict. Tip me my Earnest, give me my Snack or Dividend.

Compounds

C1. General attributive, esp. in earnest money. See also earnest penny n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > [noun] > payment by instalment or part-payment > an instalment > earnest money
earnest money1349
earnest1424
earnest penny1454
arles1487
bargain-penny1490
handsel1569
impress-money1617
depositum1623
fasting penny1650
deposit1737
arrha1754
handsale1766
fastening penny1811
sign-on1922
1349–50 in R. Stewart-Brown Accts. Chamberlains Chester (1910) 144 (MED) 13s.4d. [of a certain custom called] Ernesselver [& arising from merchants buying salt].
c1460 (?c1435) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) 666 (MED) An ernest grote, whan it is dronke and goon, Bargeyn of marchauntys stant in aventure.
1557 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 266 The ernyst money of the towne rents.
1616 Sir R. Boyle in Lismore Papers (1886) I. 136 I delivered to..Capn. Wm. Hull xxli ster: as earnest money to buy casks for ffumadoes.
1784 J. Woodforde Diary 23 Aug. (1926) II. 150 She..took the Earnest Money of me.
1827 J. Kent Comm. Amer. Law II. xxxix. 389 If, therefore, earnest money be given..the contract is binding.
1883 J. E. C. Welldon tr. Aristotle Politics i. xi. 30 He got together a small amount of cash and engaged all the oil-presses in Miletus and Chios, paying down the earnest-money.
1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. God's penny, earnest-money, the actual coin which the master pays on concluding the hiring of a servant.
1998 Cincinnati Enquirer 1 Feb. h3/4 A simple contingency written into a sales contract could prevent the loss of earnest money.
C2. Objective.
† earnest giver n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1697 J. Vanbrugh Provok'd Wife iii. 32 I'm none of your earnest givers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

earnestadj.

Brit. /ˈəːnᵻst/, U.S. /ˈərnəst/
Forms: early Old English heorneste, Old English eorneste, Old English eornoste, Old English eornyste, early Middle English eornnest, Middle English ernexst (perhaps transmission error), Middle English ernyst, Middle English hernest, Middle English–1600s ernest, 1500s arnest, 1500s earneste, 1500s erneste, 1500s yearnest, 1500s– earnest, 1600s earst (perhaps transmission error); U.S. regional 1800s– airnest, 1800s– arnest, 1800s– yearnest; also Scottish pre-1700 airnest, pre-1700 earnist, pre-1700 eirnist, pre-1700 ernist.
Origin: Either (i) formed within English, by conversion. Or (ii) a word inherited from Germanic. Etymon: earnest n.1
Etymology: < earnest n.1 or its Germanic base. Compare Middle Dutch ernst (Dutch ernst ), Middle High German ernest (German ernst ). Compare earnest adv.Earlier currency of sense 1b is probably implied by the following use as noun of the Old English adjective:eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 189 Seria, heorneste.The gloss renders post-classical Latin seria (use as noun of classical Latin sērius serious adj.2) in the putative source (Aldhelm Carmen de virginitate 988) in the phrase apicum seria, lit. ‘serious matters of letters’, i.e. ‘serious decrees’ (as opposed to ‘games’).
1.
a. Of a person: serious, not frivolous; showing sincere and intense feeling or conviction; lacking playfulness. Of feelings, convictions, etc.: intense, ardent; sincerely held. In later use tending to exclude the notion of uncontrolled or violent feeling, which in some earlier examples is prominent; cf. for example quot. 1620 and quot. 1670 at earnestness n.
ΚΠ
OE Cynewulf Crist II 824 Bið [the Lord] nu eorneste þonne eft cymeð, reðe ond ryhtwis.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxvii. 401 Gecum to minum þeowan Saulum se is biddende minre miltsungæ mid eornystum [c1175 Bodl. 343 eornnest] mode.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 26351 Propre, stedfast, Ernexst [Fairf. ernest], willi, buxum, sothfast, Oþer pontes has vr scrift al nede þat blis and bute vs to sal bede.
?1550 R. Weaver Lusty Iuventus sig. E.iv Of an earnest professor of Christes gospell, Thou madest me an ypocrite.
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Life Agricola in tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. 239 Being young hee had addicted himselfe to the study of philosophy in earnester sort.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iii. 87 I..haue beene, An earnest aduocate to pleade for him. View more context for this quotation
1620 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes 2nd Pt. Don Quixote lxxi. 479 Sancho returned to his taske, with such an earnest passion, that the barke of many a tree fell off, so great was the rigour and fury wherewith he scourged himselfe.
a1639 T. Dekker et al. Witch of Edmonton (1658) iii. i. 33 I'll not turn from it, if you be earst, Sir.
1681 J. Flavell Method of Grace xxviii. 492 Earnest desires of our souls to God in prayer for..sin-mortifying grace.
1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 18 Apr. (1965) I. 348 The good Lady..was very earnest in serving me of every thing.
1729 J. Swift Jrnl. Dublin Lady 6 With panting Heart, and earnest Eyes In hope to see Spadillo rise.
1793 R. Southey Triumph of Woman 240 What though her Priests in earnest terror call On all their host of Gods to aid?
1830 I. D'Israeli Comm. Life Charles I III. vi. 114 There was a good deal of earnest impetuosity in his temper.
1841 R. W. Emerson Self-reliance in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 62 All history resolves itself..into the biography of a few stout and earnest persons.
1858 Edinb. Rev. No. 217. 183 To [Arnold]..we owe the substitution of the word ‘earnest’ for its predecessor ‘serious’.
1903 H. Keller Story of my Life i. xviii. 60 The thought of going to college took root in my heart and became an earnest desire.
1961 J. Heller Catch-22 viii. 79 He was a very serious, very earnest and very conscientious dope.
2003 G. C. Woodward Idea of Identification iv. 95 He is an earnest person in an age of irony.
b. Of an action or words: proceeding from or implying intensity of feeling or conviction; serious, lacking humour or levity.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > zeal or enthusiasm > [adjective]
needfulOE
anguishous?c1225
eager?a1300
throc1330
fierce1377
desirousc1386
affectuousa1400
yeverousa1400
inwardc1402
earnestful?1406
rathe?c1450
zealing1459
increc1480
affectual1483
zealous1526
affectioneda1533
jealous1535
heartyc1540
affectivec1550
earnest1563
pricking1575
forward1587
affectionate1598
passiveless1602
zealful1602
full-hearteda1616
wholehearted1644
intense1645
high1649
covetous1652
thorough-hearted1656
keen as mustard1659
fell1667
fervent1673
smirk1674
zealed1679
prest1697
strenuous1713
enthusiastic1741
enthusiastical1755
whole-souled1821
con amore1828
lyrical1875
mustard1919
gung ho1942
a1456 (a1426) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 677 (MED) Hit is no game but an hernest play, For lack of wit a man his wyf to greeve.
1539 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes sig. Aiijv They woll gyue much tougher and more ernest strokes.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 43v The Ernyst speche..of Elinus the Bysshop.
1563 J. Man tr. W. Musculus Common Places Christian Relig. 372 a Anye earnest or curiouse search thereof.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 320 My toong should stumble in mine earnest words.
1611 Bible (King James) Heb. ii. 1 We ought to giue the more earnest heede. View more context for this quotation
1629 J. Earle Micro-cosmogr. (ed. 5) xxxii. sig. G1 His chiding may seeme but the earnester commendation.
1715 D. Defoe Family Instructor I. i. i. 26 Earnest Endeavours after Reformation and Amendment.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xii. viii. 250 Partridge, with much earnest Entreaty, prevailed with Jones to enter, and weather the Storm. View more context for this quotation
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. iv. 112 [He] sometimes thanked her in a manner more earnest than was usual with him.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §22. 160 To say one earnest word in connexion with this ascent.
1893 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 409/2 You tell me that he closed his eyes in the little village of Arquà..leaving an earnest injunction that he should be laid to his last rest upon that very spot.
1981 I. McEwan Comfort of Strangers (1983) vii. 78 The earnest conversation of the other guests made them titter like schoolchildren.
2003 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 18 Jan. Earnest, cheesy lyrics and passionless tunes.
c. With for or infinitive, expressing a purpose, aim, or outcome. Now somewhat rare.
ΚΠ
1534 G. Joye Subuersion Moris False Found. f. lviiiv Paule whose labours and swet in the gospel exceded al others to wyn both iwe & gentyle, beinge also ernest for his brotherne ye iwes yt he desyerd to be castout of goddis fauour, so thei mighte be taken yn.
1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature f. 97v They became as eger and earnest to begin the warre, as if Christ himself had bene their captaine.
1650 Briefe Relation Some Affaires No. 35. 485 Here hath been the Prince of Orange these three or four days, and been extreme earnest with both parties to agree them, and hath indeed brought both to a Subscription.
c1665 L. Hutchinson Mem. Col. Hutchinson (1973) 171 The Presbiterian faction were earnest to have the Armie disbanded.
1676 W. Temple Let. in Wks. (1731) II. 420 The Swede is earnest for a Peace.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 259 He was too earnest for an Answer to forget his Question; so that he repeated it in the very same broken Words.
1753 E. Haywood Hist. Jemmy & Jenny Jessamy III. ii. 24 Jemmy was called suddenly away to a gentle-woman, who his servant told him was very earnest to speak with him.
1853 Arab. Nights 377 Saony,..was earnest with the King to give the signal to the executioner.
1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. i. v. 148 Caraffa and his associates were earnest to introduce the Inquisition.
1927 V. L. Parrington Main Currents in Amer Thought II. ii. ii. 109 He was earnest to do good.., but he walked always in his own shadow.
d. In extended use. Of a thing: conveying a sense of earnestness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > melancholy > seriousness or solemnity > [adjective] > of life or the earth
earnest1838
1838 H. W. Longfellow Psalm of Life in Knickerbocker Sept. 189 Life is real—life is earnest—And the grave is not its goal.
1851 T. Carlyle Life J. Sterling ii. xiii. 331 He read a good deal,—earnest books; the Bible, most earnest of books, his chief favourite.
1911 E. Duncan Story of Carol vi. 81 In his many short original compositions.., there is a grave and earnest note of melody.
1997 C. B. Divakaruni Mistress of Spices 67 Long skirts in earnest earth colours.
2. Of an affair, activity, etc.: demanding serious consideration; weighty, important.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > grave or serious
heavy971
highOE
earnestfula1400
solemn1420
weighty1489
ponderousa1500
chargeablea1513
serious1531
earnest1533
gravous1535
capitala1538
deep1598
grave1824
1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani xiii. sig. K.viij An ernest mater & worthy to be rebuked sharply.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 2 We scholers haue more ernest & weightie matters in hand.
1615 T. Adams Lycanthropy Ep. Ded., in Blacke Deuill ii. sig. A2 I haue put vp the Wolfe, though not hunted him; as iudging my selfe too weake for that sport-earnest.
1696 M. Pix Ibrahim ii. 6 The Mufti writes, that on earnest business He craves my presence.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison I. xxv. 180 Sir Charles had earnest business in town.
1820 W. Scott Abbot III. viii. 168 Could we but engage her in some earnest matter of argument.
1871 G. T. Robinson Fall of Metz xviii. 386 This was serious, earnest business.
1920 S. Lewis Main St. xxiii. 278 Hugh lay on his stomach, making an earnest business of sleeping.
1998 A. J. Kochavi Prelude to Nuremberg 53 Pell reached the conclusion that the State Department did not regard the treatment of war criminals as an earnest matter.
†3. Of an animal: excited. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by nature > [adjective] > lively
proudc1300
heartya1375
wanton1532
sprightly1600
earnest1609
spirited1624
1609 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie i. sig. A8v If they [sc. bees] be so earnest, that you feare stinging your hands.

Compounds

earnest-hearted adj.
ΚΠ
1821 New Monthly Mag. 1 651 It [sc. the poetry of female writers] is placid, affectionate, and earnest-hearted.
1912 W. C. Braithwaite Beginnings of Quakerism i. 2 To the earnest-hearted Protestant.., it seemed sadly invertebrate.
2007 L. Ebling Search for Life Through Past 79 It would have been hard for some to accept it as a prayer of repentance and faith. But it was completely earnest-hearted and sincere.
earnest-looking adj.
ΚΠ
1824 T. Carlyle Let. 24 June in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (1970) III. 90 [Coleridge's] earnest looking eyes.
1903 I. Meredith Girl among Anarchists iii. 47 The only feminine element in this assembly was a fair, earnest-looking Russian girl.
1991 S. Winchester Pacific (1992) 51 Earnest-looking men with maps and pointers..demonstrate..the inch-by-inch path that the storm is taking.
† earnest-mild adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1850 E. B. Browning Poems (new ed.) II. 409 If a little maid,..Should sigh within it, earnest-mild, This reed will answer evermore.
1865 C. Bruce Story of Queen Guinevere & Sir Lancelot ii. 13 An earnest-mild, imperial mien.
earnest-minded adj.
ΚΠ
1574 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. St. Paule to Galathians xxviii. f. 207v It is good too bee alwayes earnest minded in good things, & not only when I am present with you.
1833 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 19 Jan. 150 It may be that he will be indignantly rejected by the sober, practical, earnest-minded men.
1960 New Scientist 14 Apr. 956/2 This lavish volume is the latest of a long series which earnest-minded parents have been buying.
2010 Times (Nexis) 12 Jan. (Features section) 55 An earnest-minded young Catholic, an engineer, falls in love with a virtuous girl.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† earnestv.1

Forms: Middle English ernest, 1500s yarneste, 1600s–1700s earnest.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: earnest n.2
Etymology: < earnest n.2
Obsolete.
transitive. To secure by giving or taking earnest money. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > security > pledge or deposit as security [verb (transitive)] > secure or confirm by pledge
sicker1338
earnesta1425
mortgage1588
a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 34 Inarro, to ernesten.
1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) l. 4146 (MED) A noþir louere..wyth þe ryng of hys feyth hath ernestyd me.
1571–2 in L. M. Clopper Rec. Early Eng. Drama: Chester (1979) 92 Item pede to doose wyfe to yarneste the hagoosscys xijd.
1630 H. Lord Display Two Forraigne Sects Introd. sig. B1 I was willing to earnest his love to mee by this injunction.
1695 J. St. Nicholas Widow's Mite 28 Election made sure, confirmed, sealed, witnessed, earnested by the peculiar Spirit of Adoption.
1700 in Jrnl. Cork Hist. & Archaeol. Soc. (1895) 455 No person not living within the said burrough that henceforth shall buy or earnest anything brought to the said markett.
1794 P. Parkinson Life Samuel Simkins II. xiv. 15 He..enlisted in his regiment of comedians at an advance salary. Having thus earnested his employ in future, he, according to the theatrical mode, took his birth in the Irish Transport at King's-Stairs, Rotherhithe.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2021).

† earnestv.2

Origin: Probably formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: earnest n.1; earnest adj.
Etymology: Probably partly < earnest n.1 and partly < earnest adj.
Obsolete. rare.
1. transitive. To use in earnest.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > use or wield (a weapon) [verb (transitive)] > in earnest
earnest1602
1602 Pastor Fido E j Let's prove among ourselves our armes in jest, That when we come to earnest them with men, We may them better use.
2. transitive. To render earnest or serious.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > passion > affect with passion or strong emotion [verb (transitive)]
passion1467
stir1490
passionate1566
appassionate1589
impassion1591
earnest1603
impassionatea1641
to move a person's blood1697
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. iii. viii. 553 The studie and plodding on bookes, is a languishing & weake kinde of motion, and which heateth or earnesteth nothing.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online September 2018).

† earnestadv.

Forms: 1500s earneste, 1500s–1700s earnest.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: earnest adj.
Etymology: < earnest adj. Compare earlier earnestly adv.Compare Old English eornoste (adverb) seriously, in earnest, resolutely, fiercely (probably partly use as adverb of a case form (originally instrumental) of earnest n.1 and partly < earnest adj.).
Obsolete.
= earnestly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > zeal or enthusiasm > [adverb]
yernlyc725
yerneOE
yernfullyOE
earnestlyOE
fastOE
needlya1350
keenlya1375
prestlya1375
eagerlyc1380
busilya1400
earnestfullya1400
enkerly?a1400
entirelya1400
affectuously?a1425
affectuallyc1425
effectually1434
heartfullya1450
heartilya1450
increlyc1480
zealously?1495
affectionately1534
earnest1563
heart and soul1620
obnixiously1632
obnixely1641
earn1656
warmly1665
enthusiastically1730
con amore1749
ravingly1825
wholeheartedly1845
enthusiastly1846
1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. C.iiiiv How much more earnest they, at fyrst theyr hearts do set, So much more sooner euer more, where late they loued, forget.
1629 J. Cole Of Death 44 The lesse the bodily members are occupied, the more earnester hee withdrawes himselfe to his cogitations.
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation xlvii. 516 Had not profited with that Queen, so earnest was she bent against the Duke of Chastelherault.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. iv. 101 Earnest they sued for an auxiliar band.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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n.1OEn.21221adj.OEv.1a1425v.21602adv.1563
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