argument

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈɑːɡ.jə.mənt/, US /ˈɑːrɡ.jə.mənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English argument,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French arguement (“reasoning, opinion; accusation, charge”),^[4][5] from Latin argūmentum (“a logical argument; evidence, ground, proof”),^[4][5] from arguere (“to make clear, make known, prove”),^[4][6] the source of argue, with the suffix -mentum (-ment).^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Proof, evidence, a token: 1382 in the OED;^[7] statements and reasoning supporting a proposition, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[4]

Semantic evolution

A reason put forward to influence the mind is from about 1386,^[7] a connected series of statements meant to establish a position from 1393,^[7] and the discussion of a question from 1494.^[7] In astronomy and mathematics it has meant the quantity from which another is deduced since about 1386.^[7] The summary of a book's subject matter is from 1535,^[7] and the theme or subject of a discourse from 1570.^[7] The sense passed through “subject of contention” (1590s) to “a quarrel” (by 1911), a sense formerly attached to argumentation.^[4][7] In Aberdeen school use, an argument was an English passage to be turned into Latin.^[8]

Timeline

• 1382 – proof, evidence.^[7]
• c. 1386 – a reason; in mathematics.^[7]
• 1393 – a line of reasoning.^[7]
• 1535 – a summary of a book.^[7]
• 1590s – a subject of contention.^[4]
• 1911 – a quarrel.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A discussion in which people disagree; a debate.
2. A quarrel or dispute.
3. A reason or set of reasons given to prove or disprove something.
4. A course of reasoning meant to show truth or falsehood.
5. A summary of the subject or plot of a literary work.
6. In mathematics, the independent variable of a function.

Word family

• argumentation
• argumentative
• argument from design

Related words

• arguable
• arguably
• argue
• argufy
• argumentum

Usage notes

The American Heritage distinguishes argument, in which each side puts forward facts and reasons to persuade the other, from dispute and controversy.^[9]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
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. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin