Etymologically
Log in

actual

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 17:03. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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

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