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absent

Etymology and origin of the English word absent

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1382
Borrowed from
Old French absent
Ultimate origin
Latin (absens)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: adjective: /ˈæb.sənt/; verb: /æbˈsent/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French absent, a learned borrowing of Latin absēns, present participle of abesse, to be away,[2][3][4] from ab-, away, and esse, to be (see essence).[2][3][5] The verb is from Old French absenter, Late Latin absentāre, to cause to be away.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Being away, not present: 1382, in the Wycliffe Bible.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to keep oneself away, is probably from before 1400, in Chaucer's Romaunt of the Rose,[2] the late 14th century in Etymonline.[3] Of time, distant, is from 1535,[6] and absent-minded, inattentive, from 1710.[6] Of things, lacking or non-existent, is from 1718.[6] The preposition, without, in the absence of, is from 1944, chiefly from American legal use.[3] Absentee is from 1537 and absenteeism from 1829.[2]

Timeline

  • 1382 – not present.[2][6]
  • before 1400 – to absent oneself.[2]
  • 1537 – absentee.[2]
  • 1710 – absent-minded.[6]
  • 1829 – absenteeism.[2]
  • 1944 – absent, without (preposition).[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Not present; away or missing.
  2. Lacking or non-existent.
  3. Inattentive; absent-minded.

Verb

  1. To keep oneself away: to absent oneself from a meeting.

Preposition

  1. (chiefly US) Without; in the absence of.

Word family

  • absently
  • absenter
  • absentness
  • absent without leave

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Absent.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/absent. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·