active

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæk.tɪv/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English actif, active,^[2] borrowed from Old French actif (feminine active),^[2][3] or directly borrowed from Latin āctīvus,^[2][3] from āctus “a doing”, the past participle of agō (“I drive, cause to move, do”),^[4][5] the source of act.^[3] Etymonline takes it to Proto-Indo-European *ag- (“to drive, draw out, move”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Given to worldly activity”, as opposed to contemplative or monastic: 1340, in the Ayenbite of Inwyt,^[3][6] the mid-14th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

As “capable of acting, communicating action”, opposed to passive, it is from the late 14th century,^[2][6] about 1400 in the OED.^[6] In grammar, of a verb whose subject performs the action, it is from the mid-15th century,^[2] and the active voice is recorded from 1765.^[2] “Energetic, lively” is from the 1590s,^[2] and “working, effective, in operation”, opposed to inactive or extinct, from the 1640s.^[2][6] In physics it was used for radioactive from 1900.^[6] Activity is from probably before 1400,^[3] and activate from 1626, in Bacon.^[3]

Timeline

• 1340 – given to outward action.^[3][6]
• before 1400 – activity.^[3]
• late 14th century – opposed to passive.^[2]
• mid-15th century – in grammar.^[2]
• 1590s – energetic, lively.^[2]
• 1626 – activate.^[3]
• 1640s – working, in operation.^[2][6]
• 1765 – active voice.^[2]
• 1900 – radioactive.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Moving about or doing things; busy or energetic.
2. Taking part in something; involved: an active member.
3. Working or in operation; of a volcano, liable to erupt.
4. (grammar) Of a verb or voice: having a subject that performs the action.
5. (military) In full-time service.
6. (chemistry, physics) Able to react or to have an effect; radioactive.

Noun

1. (grammar) The active voice; a verb form in it.
2. An active member of an organization.

Word family

• actively
• activeness
• activate
• activewear
• activism
• activist
• activity
• activize

Related words

• act
• action
• agent
• agile
• inactive
• proactive

Usage notes

Active simply means being in action as opposed to being passive;^[7] energetic suggests a great output of energy, vigorous strength and health, and lively high spirits.^[7]

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 h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ 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 g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin