Etymologically
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action

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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

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)