apology

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/ (UK); /əˈpɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin apologia or French apologie,^[2][3][4] from Greek ἀπολογία (apología, “a speech in defence”),^[2][5] from apologeîsthai, to defend oneself, give an account of oneself,^[2][5] from ἀπόλογος (apólogos), an account, story, from ἀπό- (apó-), away, off, and λόγος (lógos), speech (see logos).^[5][2][6] Barnhart notes that apologie has been recorded in French since 1488.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A defence or justification: 1533, in the title of Sir Thomas More's Apologie;^[2][7][6] Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

An apology was at first a formal defence against an accusation, used in legal contexts.^[8][4] Less formally, a justification or excuse is from 1588,^[7] and an explanation offered to someone affected that no offence was meant, the main modern sense, from 1594.^[7] Johnson defined it as defence or excuse, noting that it signifies rather excuse than vindication,^[5] which may show the path of the change.^[5] A poor substitute, an apology for a meal, is from 1754.^[7] The old sense of defence went to the Latin form apologia (1784).^[5] Apologize is from 1597 and apologetic from 1649.^[2]

Timeline

• 1533 – a defence.^[2]
• 1588 – an excuse.^[7]
• 1594 – an expression of regret.^[7]
• 1597 – apologize.^[2]
• 1754 – a poor substitute.^[7]
• 1784 – apologia.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon for a fault or offence.
2. A formal defence or justification.
3. An explanation or excuse.
4. A poor or inferior substitute: an apology for a meal.

Word family

• apologise
• apologist
• apologize

Related words

• apologetic
• apologetics
• apologia
• logos
• prologue

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press