Etymologically
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accident

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈæk.sɪ.dᵊnt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English accident,[2] borrowed from Old French accident,[3][4] from Latin accidēns (“an occurrence; chance; misfortune”) (accusative accidentem),[3][4] the noun use of the present participle of accidere (“to happen, fall out, fall upon”),[3][4] from ad- (“to”) and cadere (“to fall”),[3][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *kad- (“to fall”).[3] It is related to chance, incident, occasion, decay and cadaver;[6] the idea of an event falling remains in befall.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

An occurrence, incident, event: about 1380, in Chaucer's House of Fame, according to Barnhart,[4] and the late 14th century in Etymonline.[3] An unfortunate event, a mishap, is from about 1374 in the OED.[7]

Semantic evolution

An accident was at first just “an event, something that happens”, not necessarily a mishap,[6] though since Latin the sense has tended to move from “an event” to “an undesirable event”;[3] Latin si quid cui accidat, “if anything should happen to one”, was a euphemism for dying.[3] In Middle English the word is met usually in theology, of the material qualities of the sacramental bread and wine, in medicine, of an unusual condition or injury, and in philosophy, of a non-essential attribute.[3][5] Chance, as by accident, is from 1490, after French par accident,[7] and “the operations of chance” from the late 15th century.[3] By the 17th century the modern meaning was established.[6] Accidents will happen, from accidents will happen in the best-regulated families, dates from the early 18th century.[6] An accidental call of nature is from 1899,[7] an unplanned child from 1932,[7][3] and accident-prone from 1926.[3] accidental is from 1386.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1374 – a mishap.[7]
  • c. 1380 – an event, in Chaucer.[4]
  • 1386 – accidental.[4]
  • 1490 – chance, by accident.[7]
  • early 18th century – accidents will happen.[6]
  • 1926 – accident-prone.[3]
  • 1932 – an unplanned child.[7][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An unexpected and undesirable event, especially one causing damage or injury.
  2. An unforeseen event; a chance occurrence.
  3. Lack of intention: by accident.
  4. In philosophy, a property that is not essential to the nature of a thing.

Word family

  • postaccident
  • accidental
  • accident-prone
  • accident insurance
  • cerebrovascular accident

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press