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Etymology and origin of the English word appraisal

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1698 Acts and Laws of Massachusetts-Bay
Ultimate origin
English appraise,-al

Pronunciation

  • /əˈpɹeɪzəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English appraise + -al,[2][3][4][5][6] after the earlier appraisement, recorded from the 1640s.[3][2] The verb appraise is either an alteration of apprize (“to set a price on”) by association with praise, or formed from praise after apprize;[2][7] apprize is from Old French aprisier (“to set a price on”), from Late Latin appretiō (“to value”), from pretium (“price”).[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Setting a price on something; valuation: 1698, in the laws of Massachusetts Bay.[2] Etymonline dates it by 1784, as an American word,[3] the MWU to 1795,[4] and Dictionary.com to 1810–20.[6]

Semantic evolution

From the money value of goods the word widened to the assessment of the quality or worth of anything: the first record, in 1817, is in Coleridge's Biographia Literaria, and Etymonline notes that it was at first a term of literary criticism.[2][3] In the 20th century it was used of evaluating how well an employee works (1915), and since 1950 of a formal review of an employee's performance, usually in an interview with a manager.[2] In the oil industry it is an estimate of what a field can produce (1942).[2]

Timeline

  • 1640s – the earlier noun appraisement.[3]
  • 1698 – setting a price on something, valuation.[2]
  • 1817 – assessment of quality or worth.[2][3]
  • 1915 – evaluation of a person's work.[2]
  • 1942 – oil industry, estimate of a field's yield.[2]
  • 1950 – a formal employee performance review.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An assessment of the worth, quality or nature of someone or something, or the judgment that results: a sober appraisal of the team's chances.[8][4][2]
  2. A valuation of property or goods, especially by an official appraiser.[8][4][2]
  3. A formal review of an employee's performance over a period: Her annual appraisal is next week.[2][8]
  4. (oil industry) An estimate of how much oil or gas a field could produce.[2]

Word family

  • misappraisal
  • overappraisal
  • reappraisal
  • self-appraisal

References

  1. ^ 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 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Appraisal.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/appraisal. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·