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Origin and history of convey

convey(v.)

early 14c., conveien, "to go along with;" late 14c., "to carry, transport;" from Anglo-French conveier, Old French convoiier "to accompany, escort" (Modern French convoyer), from Vulgar Latin *conviare "to accompany on the way," from assimilated form of Latin com "with, together" (see con-) + via "way, road" (from PIE root *wegh- "to go, move, transport in a vehicle").

Meaning "communicate by transmission" is from late 14c. Sense of "act of transferring property from one person to another" is from 1520s. It was a euphemism for "steal" 15c.-17c., which helped broaden its meaning. Related: Conveyed; conveying.

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to convey

conveyance(n.)

mid-15c., conveiaunce, "act of conveying, act of carrying or transporting," from convey + -ance. Meaning "document by which something is legally conveyed" is from 1570s; sense "means of transportation" is attested from 1590s. Related: Conveyancer; conveyancing (n.). The Old French abstract noun was convoiement.

conveyor(n.)

1640s, "one who conveys," agent-noun in Latin form from convey. The form conveyer is earlier (1510s). Sense of "mechanical contrivance for carrying objects" is from 1813. Conveyor-belt is attested from 1868.

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convoy
1550s, "the act of guiding or escorting for protection," from obsolete verb convoy "to accompany on the way for protection" (late 14c.), from Old French convoiier, from Vulgar Latin *conviare, literally "go together on the road," from assimilated form of Latin com "with, together
bring
Old English bringan "to bear, convey, take along in coming; bring forth, produce, present, offer" (past tense brohte, past participle broht), from Proto-Germanic *brangjanan (source also of Old Frisian branga "attest, declare, assure," Middle Dutch brenghen, Old High German bring
take
Middle English taken, from late Old English tacan "to grip, seize by force, lay hold of," from a Scandinavian source (such as Old Norse taka "take, grasp, lay hold," past tense tok, past participle tekinn; also compare Swedish ta, past participle tagit). This is reconstructed to
transport
late 14c., "convey from one place to another," from Old French transporter "carry or convey across; overwhelm (emotionally...)" (14c.) or directly from Latin transportare "carry over, take across, convey, remove," from trans "beyond, across" (see...
purport
1520s, "indicate, express, set forth, convey to the mind as the meaning or thing intended," from the noun in English and...from Anglo-French purporter (c. 1300), from Old French purporter "to contain, convey, carry; intend," from pur- (from Latin...
import
early 15c., "signify, show, bear or convey in meaning," from Latin importare "bring in, convey, bring in from abroad," from...
port
"to carry, bear, convey," 1560s, from French porter, from Latin portare "to carry, bear, bring, convey," also figuratively...
land
Old English lond, land, "ground, soil," also "definite portion of the earth's surface, home region of a person or a people, territory marked by political boundaries," from Proto-Germanic *landja- (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian Dutch, Gothic land, German Land), perhaps fro
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
mane
"growth of long hair on the back of the neck and shoulders," characteristic of the horse, lion, and some other animals, Old English manu "mane of a horse," from Proto-Germanic *mano (source also of Old Norse mön, Old Frisian mana, Middle Dutch mane, Dutch manen, Old High German m

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