action

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæk.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English accioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman accioun and action (“action; lawsuit”),^[2][3][4] a learned borrowing from Latin āctiō (“a putting in motion, doing; public acts; lawsuit”) (accusative āctiōnem),^[2][3][5] a noun of action from the past participle stem of agere (“to drive, do”).^[2][3][4] Etymonline traces it to Proto-Indo-European *ag- (“to drive, draw out, move”).^[2] The spelling with the Latin -t- was restored in the 15th century.^[2] It is related to act, active and agent.^[5][6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Barnhart dates the word to before 1338.^[3] Etymonline's first sense, from the mid-14th century, is legal: the cause or grounds for a lawsuit.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The force of one body upon another is recorded from about 1360,^[8] and active exertion in general from the late 14th century.^[2] The OED's first example of action as distinct from thought or passion is from 1393.^[8] “Something done, a deed” is from the late 14th century.^[2][8] Military fighting is action from the 1590s,^[2] and a battle from 1579.^[9] In oratory, gesture was action from 1579.^[9] The way a firearm or other mechanism works is from 1845,^[2] and in the same year the proverb actions speak louder than words is recorded.^[8] As a film director's command, action! is from 1923.^[2] The slang sense “exciting or important activity”, as in a piece of the action, is from 1933.^[8] The verb meant “to sue” from 1733,^[8] and “to take action on, put into effect” in office use from 1962.^[8] Actionable is from 1591.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1338 – first record.^[3]
• mid-14th century – grounds for a lawsuit.^[2]
• c. 1360 – the influence of one body on another.^[8]
• late 14th century – a deed; activity.^[2]
• 1579 – a battle; oratorical gesture.^[9]
• 1591 – actionable.^[3]
• 1733 – verb, to sue.^[8]
• 1845 – the working of a mechanism.^[2]
• 1923 – action! on a film set.^[2]
• 1933 – noteworthy activity.^[8]
• 1962 – verb, to put into effect.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The state or process of acting or doing.
2. A deed.
3. A movement or series of movements.
4. Vigorous activity or energy.
5. The working parts of a mechanism, such as a gun or piano, and the way they work.
6. (law) A lawsuit.
7. Armed fighting; a battle.
8. (slang) Exciting or important activity.

Verb

1. To take action on; to put into effect.

Word family

• actionless

Related words

• act
• agent
• agency
• active
• activity
• agenda
• actionable
• transaction

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 k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)