Etymologically
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administration

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 14 October 2026 at 20:59. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ədˌmɪn.ɪˈstɹeɪ.ʃən/ (UK); /ədˌmɪn.əˈstɹeɪ.ʃən/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English administracioun,[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman administracioun or amynistraciun,[3] from Latin administrātiō (“aid, help; direction, management”),[2][5][3] from administrāre (“to help, assist; to manage, direct”),[2][3] from ad (“to”) and ministrāre (“to serve, attend”), from minister (“servant, attendant”) (see minister).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The giving or dispensing of something, such as a sacrament (c. 1350 in the Historical Thesaurus; mid-14th century in Etymonline).[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Beside dispensing, the word soon meant management of a business or property (c. 1374 in the OED, late 14th century in Etymonline),[7][2] and service in an office (1382, now obsolete in this general sense).[7] The management of a dead person's estate is attested from the early 15th century.[2][6][7] The management of public affairs, government, dates from the 1680s,[2][7] and led to the executive part of government (1731),[7][2] for which British English later preferred government.[2] The meaning “a US president's period in office” is recorded by 1796, in the writings of George Washington.[2][7] In The Federalist, Hamilton limited the word in its most precise sense to the executive details of government.[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as conducting public affairs and dispensing the laws, as the active or executive part of government, and as those entrusted with public affairs.[8] In medicine it means the giving of a remedy or drug (?a1425).[6][7] A late 20th-century British sense is the management of an insolvent company under a court order.[9][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1350 – dispensing a sacrament.[6]
  • c. 1374 – management of a business.[7]
  • 1382 – service in an office (obsolete).[7]
  • early 15th century – management of a dead person's estate.[2]
  • ?a1425 – giving of medicine.[6]
  • 1681 – management of public affairs.[7][2]
  • 1731 – the executive part of government.[7][2]
  • 1796 – a US president's period in office.[7][2]
  • late 20th century – management of an insolvent company.[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Management of the affairs of a business, institution or organization.
  2. The people who manage an institution or organization.
  3. The executive branch of a government; in the United States, the president and the officials under them, often capitalized.
  4. The term of office of an executive, such as a president.
  5. (law) The management and disposal of a dead person's estate or a trust.
  6. (law) The management of an insolvent company under a court order.
  7. The giving or applying of something, such as an oath, a sacrament or a medicine.

Word family

  • administrative
  • administratively
  • administrational
  • self-administration
  • antiadministration
  • maladministration
  • misadministration
  • preadministration
  • administer
  • administrator
  • minister
  • ministry

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  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
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press