adequate

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæd.ɪ.kwət/, /ˈæd.ə.kwət/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin adaequātus (“made equal”), the past participle of adaequāre, to make equal, equalize,^[2][3][4][5] from ad-, to, and aequāre, to make level, from aequus, equal (see equal).^[2][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Merriam-Webster dates the adjective to 1593;^[5] Barnhart and the OED first record it before 1617, the sense equal to what is required, sufficient,^[2][7] and Etymonline dates it to the 1610s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Equal in magnitude or extent, commensurate, is from 1628 and obsolete.^[7] In logic, fully representing something, it is from 1690.^[7] Somewhat disparaging use, barely sufficient, mediocre, is by 1900,^[3][7] and equal to the occasion, competent, from 1924.^[7] A verb adequate, to equalize, was used from 1599.^[7]

Timeline

• 1593 – first known use.^[5]
• before 1617 – sufficient.^[7]
• 1628 – commensurate.^[7]
• 1900 – barely sufficient.^[7]
• 1924 – competent.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Sufficient to meet a need or requirement.
2. Barely satisfactory; no more than acceptable.

Word family

• adequacy
• adequately
• adequateness
• inadequate
• superadequate

Related words

• equal
• equate

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press