ambiguity

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English ambiguite,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman ambiguité, also ambeguité,^[4][5] and directly borrowed from Latin ambiguitās (“double meaning, equivocalness”),^[4][6][7] from ambiguus (“having a double meaning, doubtful”),^[6][4][8] from ambigō (“to dispute about; to waver, be in doubt”), formed from ambi- (“about, around”) and agō (“to drive, lead, act”).^[6][8] Etymonline traces the two parts to Proto-Indo-European *ambhi- (“around”) and Proto-Indo-European *ag- (“to drive, draw out, move”).^[6] The French word is recorded from 1270 in the sense "doubt, uncertainty",^[4] and in Anglo-Norman from 1378.^[5] The related adjective ambiguous came later, first in Sir Thomas More in 1528.^[8][6] The OED compares Italian ambiguità and Spanish ambiguidad.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fact of having more than one possible meaning, said of words: before 1325, in the Statutes of the Realm.^[4] Etymonline dates the word to about 1400, in the senses "uncertainty, doubt, hesitation",^[6] and Barnhart to probably about 1400.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word often meant uncertainty about circumstances or one's course, doubt or hesitation:^[2][6] Lydgate's Troy Book (about 1420) says that victory is ready to hand, "voide platly of ambiguyte".^[2] This sense died out in the late 16th century.^[4][9] An instance of doubt or uncertain meaning is recorded from 1445, and an ambiguous word or phrase from 1583.^[4] Johnson (1755) defined it as "doubtfulness of meaning; uncertainty of signification; double meaning".^[10] From 1661 it was also used of things that are hard to classify because of changing or contradictory qualities.^[4] William Empson's Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930) gave it a sense in literary criticism, a nuance that allows another reading of a text.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1325 – the fact of having more than one meaning.^[4]
• c. 1400 – uncertainty, doubt.^[6][8]
• c. 1425 – hesitation about one's course (obsolete by 1593).^[4][2]
• 1445 – an instance of doubt or uncertain meaning.^[4]
• 1583 – an ambiguous word or expression.^[4]
• 1661 – the quality of being hard to classify.^[4]
• 1930 – in literary criticism, a nuance allowing another reading.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The quality of being open to more than one interpretation: The ambiguity of the contract led to a lawsuit.^[11][12][4]
2. A word, phrase or statement that can be understood in more than one way.^[11][4]
3. Uncertainty or vagueness, as of a situation.^[11][4]
4. (literary criticism) A nuance that allows an alternative reading of a text.^[4]
5. The quality of being hard to categorize because of mixed or contradictory features.^[4]
6. (obsolete, c. 1425–1593) Hesitation or doubt about what to do.^[4][9][2]

Related words

• ambiguous
• agent
• act

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster