actual

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæk.tʃu.əl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English actuel, actual,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French actuel (“now existing, up to date”),^[4][2][5] and directly borrowed from Late Latin āctuālis (“active, practical”),^[4][2] from Latin āctus (“a doing”), the source of act,^[4][2] from agere (“to do, drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *ag- (“to drive, move”).^[4] The spelling with -al is an assimilation to the Latin.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to acts, shown in deeds, practical: about 1315 in the OED,^[7] the early 14th century in Etymonline,^[4] before 1333 in Barnhart.^[2] In theology actual sin, committed in deeds, was opposed to original sin.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The broader sense “real, existing”, opposed to potential or ideal, is from the late 14th century,^[4][5] 1541 in the OED.^[7] “Present, current” is from 1642,^[7] like French actuel, but this sense is now rare in English.^[6] Placed before a noun to stress its identity, the actual thing, it is from 1869,^[7] and the British colloquial your actual, stressing authenticity, from 1966.^[7] In actual fact is from 1900,^[7] and actual bodily harm in British law from 1851.^[7] Actuality is from before 1398 and actually from the 15th century.^[2][5]

Timeline

• c. 1315 – shown in deeds, practical.^[7]
• late 14th century – real, existing.^[4]
• before 1398 – actuality.^[2]
• 1642 – present, current.^[7]
• 1851 – actual bodily harm.^[7]
• 1869 – emphasizing identity.^[7]
• 1900 – in actual fact.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Existing in fact; real, not merely possible or imagined.
2. Existing or acting at the present time; current.
3. Based on fact: the actual cost.
4. Used to stress that something is genuine: the actual house where he was born.

Word family

• actually
• actualness
• nonactual
• actualism
• actuality
• actualize
• actualization
• actual cash value

Related words

• activity
• actor
• actuary
• act
• actuate
• active

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press