English
keep time
Keep time comes from Middle English time kepen.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500time kepen
- Englishearliest quotation 1959keep time
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500time kepen
- Englishearliest quotation 1959keep time
Earliest quotation: 1959, P. Ransome-Wallis, The Southern in Trouble on the Kent Coast: “We never had a chance even to attempt to…”
Every English word from Middle English time kepen
Today it means
verb To measure time.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English time kepen / keep time