Etymologically
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active

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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

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