What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Word for word’?
The ‘close study’ meaning of the expression does back to at least 1385 when Chaucer used it in The Legend of Dido, a poem from Legend of Good Women:
I could folwe [follow] word for word Virgile.
Meaning
Word for word
The meaning of the phrase
A precise following of another's words, that is, verbatim, either in spoken repetition of those words or in a close study of a text.
Pronunciation
Examples of use
- I was sure of what I had seen of the robbery. I made sure that the police took a word for word copy of my report of it.
UsageWorldwide.
From the Phrase Finder idioms collection, written by Gary Martin.
Sources
- Geoffrey Chaucer, The Legend of Dido, from Legend of Good Women (1385) · earliest use cited for the 'close study' meaning