Etymologically
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apparent

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /əˈpær.ənt/, /əˈpeə.rənt/, US /əˈper.ənt/, /əˈpær.ənt/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English apparaunt, apparent, borrowed from Old French aparant (“evident, obvious, visible”), aparent (modern French apparent),[2][3][4] the present participle of aparoir “to appear”,[5] from Latin appārēns (“visible, manifest”) (accusative apparentem),[2][3] the present participle of appārēre (“to appear, come in sight”) (see appear).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

First in phrases such as heir apparent, about 1375 in the OED,[2][6] in the sense “manifest, evident”;[6] meeting the eye, visible, before 1393 in Gower.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

Manifest to the understanding, clear, is from about 1400,[6][2] and superficial or spurious also from about 1400.[2] Appearing to the senses or mind but not necessarily real is from the 1640s, 1645 in the OED;[2][6] Hoad dates the sense “seeming” to the 17th century.[4] In astronomy apparent magnitude, how bright a star looks from earth, is from 1875.[2][6] The noun, an heir apparent, is from 1393.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1375 – heir apparent.[6]
  • before 1393 – visible.[3][6]
  • c. 1400 – evident, obvious.[6][2]
  • 1645 – seeming.[6]
  • 1875 – apparent magnitude.[2][6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Easily seen or understood; obvious.
  2. Seeming to be real or true, but not necessarily so: his apparent innocence.

Word family

  • apparently
  • apparentness
  • inapparent
  • nonapparent
  • subapparent
  • unapparent
  • apparent horizon
  • apparent magnitude

Usage notes

The AHD notes that before a noun apparent means “seeming”, as in his apparent wealth, while after a form of be it can mean either “seeming” or “obvious”, so writers should make the meaning clear from context.[7] It groups apparent with clear, clear-cut, distinct, evident, manifest, obvious, patent and plain, all meaning readily seen, perceived or understood.[7]

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 d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin