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end (n.)

Old English ende "end, conclusion, boundary, district, species, class," from Proto-Germanic *andiaz (source also of Old Frisian enda, Old Dutch ende, Dutch einde, Old Norse endir "end;" Old High German enti "top, forehead, end," German Ende, Gothic andeis "end"), originally "the opposite side," from PIE *antjo "end, boundary," from root *ant- "front, forehead," with derivatives meaning "in front of, before."

Worldly wealth he cared not for, desiring onely to make both ends meet. [Thomas Fuller, "The History of the Worthies of England," 1662]

Original sense of "outermost part" is obsolete except in phrase ends of the earth. Sense of "destruction, death" was in Old English. Meaning "division or quarter of a town" was in Old English. The end "the last straw, the limit" (in a disparaging sense) is from 1929. The end-man in minstrel troupes was one of the two at the ends of the semicircle of performers, who told funny stories and cracked jokes with the middle-man. U.S. football end zone is from 1909 (end for "side of the field occupied by one team" is from 1851). The noun phrase end-run is attested from 1893 in U.S. football; extended to military tactics by 1940. End time in reference to the end of the world is from 1917. To end it all "commit suicide" is attested by 1911. Be-all and end-all is from Shakespeare ("Macbeth" I.vii.5).

end (v.)

Old English endian "to end, finish, abolish, destroy; come to an end, die," from the source of end (n.). Related: Ended; ending.

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Definitions of end from WordNet
1
end (n.)
either extremity of something that has length;
the end of the pier
she knotted the end of the thread
they rode to the end of the line
Synonyms: terminal
end (n.)
the point in time at which something ends;
the ending of warranty period
the end of the year
Synonyms: ending
end (n.)
the final stage or concluding parts of an event or occurrence;
the end was exciting
Synonyms: last
end (n.)
the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it;
the ends justify the means
Synonyms: goal
end (n.)
a final part or section;
we have given it at the end of the section since it involves the calculus
Start at the beginning and go on until you come to the end
end (n.)
a final state;
the so-called glorious experiment came to an inglorious end
he came to a bad end
Synonyms: destruction / death
end (n.)
the surface at either extremity of a three-dimensional object;
one end of the box was marked `This side up'
end (n.)
(football) the person who plays at one end of the line of scrimmage;
the end managed to hold onto the pass
end (n.)
a boundary marking the extremities of something;
the end of town
end (n.)
one of two places from which people are communicating to each other;
the phone rang at the other end
both ends wrote at the same time
end (n.)
the part you are expected to play;
he held up his end
end (n.)
the last section of a communication;
Synonyms: conclusion / close / closing / ending
end (n.)
a piece of cloth that is left over after the rest has been used or sold;
Synonyms: remainder / remnant / oddment
end (n.)
(American football) a position on the line of scrimmage;
no one wanted to play end
2
end (v.)
have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical;
My property ends by the bushes
The symphony ends in a pianissimo
Synonyms: stop / finish / terminate / cease
end (v.)
bring to an end or halt;
Synonyms: terminate
end (v.)
be the end of; be the last or concluding part of;
This sad scene ended the movie
Synonyms: terminate
end (v.)
put an end to;
The terrible news ended our hopes that he had survived
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near end

-ency

encyclical

encyclopaedia

encyclopedia

encyclopedic

end

endanger

endangerment

endear

endearing

endearment

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