addition

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈdɪʃ.ən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English addicioun,^[2] borrowed from Old French adition (“increase, augmentation”),^[3][4][5] from Latin additiō (“an adding to”) (accusative additiōnem),^[3][4] from additus, the past participle of addere (“to add to, join, attach”),^[5][3] the source of add.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before 1388;^[4] Etymonline dates the sense “the adding of numbers” to the late 14th century,^[3] and the OED's earliest quotation, for “that which is added”, is from 1366.^[6]

Semantic evolution

“That which is added” is from about 1400 according to Etymonline,^[3] and the action of adding or joining in general from about 1440.^[6] The rule of arithmetic is recorded from 1542.^[6] A title or description added to a person's name, to show rank or occupation, is from 1494,^[6] and in heraldry a mark of honour added to a coat of arms from 1606.^[6] In addition to, “as well as”, is from the 1680s.^[3] In the United States an addition was a piece of land added to a holding, from 1636.^[6] Additive is from 1699, and the noun, a substance added, from 1945.^[4]

Timeline

• 1366 – that which is added.^[6]
• before 1388 – first record in Barnhart.^[4]
• late 14th century – the adding of numbers.^[3]
• 1494 – a title added to a name.^[6]
• 1542 – addition as a rule of arithmetic.^[6]
• 1680s – in addition to.^[3]
• 1945 – additive, noun.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of adding.
2. (mathematics) The process of combining numbers to find their sum.
3. Something added, such as a room or wing added to a building.
4. (in addition) As well; besides.

Word family

• additional
• additionally
• cycloaddition
• readdition
• addition polymerization
• addition reaction

Related words

• add
• adder
• additive
• addendum
• edition

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press