argumentative

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin argumentativus (“relating to subject matter; that can be proved by arguments”),^[2][3][4] formed from the stem of argūmentor (“to adduce proof, draw a conclusion”) with the suffix -īvus.^[2][5] The Latin verb is from argūmentum (“proof, argument”), the source of argument, which in turn is from arguō (“to make clear, prove”).^[5] Etymonline, the Oxford Dictionary of English and the Shorter Oxford allow a second source: the word may also be borrowed from Old French argumentatif (“able to argue well”),^[5][3][4] and Klein derives it from French alone.^[6] The revised OED only compares the French adjective, which is recorded once in the 14th century and then from 1521.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to argument or logical reasoning: 1447, in O. Bokenham's Lives of Saints.^[2] Etymonline also dates the word to the mid-15th century,^[5] and Merriam-Webster to the 15th century;^[7][8] the 1989 edition of the OED had its first record only in 1642.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th century the adjective also meant "serving as an argument or as evidence", usually followed by of or for; the OED records this sense from 1623 to 1859, and the Shorter Oxford calls it obsolete.^[2][4] From 1652 it was used of people, for "skilled at or fond of arguing";^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to the 1660s.^[5] In later use the personal sense came to mean mainly "inclined to raise objections or start quarrels", and it is now the commonest meaning.^[2][10] Johnson (1755) knew only the older sense, defining the word as "consisting of argument; containing argument".^[11] In law, Black's dictionary uses it of a question or statement that offers inferences and conclusions instead of facts alone.^[12]

Timeline

• 1447 – relating to argument or reasoning.^[2]
• 1623 – serving as an argument or as evidence (obsolete after 1859).^[2]
• 1652 – of a person, skilled at or fond of arguing.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to the 1660s.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Fond of arguing; quick to dispute or raise objections; contentious: The tired passengers grew argumentative with the ticket inspector.^[10][7][2]
2. Of, relating to or consisting of argument or reasoning; controversial: an argumentative letter to the editor.^{[10][7][8][2]}
3. (law) Of a question or statement: giving inferences and conclusions drawn from the facts, and not only the facts themselves.^[12]
4. (obsolete, 1623–1859) Serving as an argument or as evidence of something.^[2][4]

Word family

• argumentatively
• argumentativeness
• nonargumentative
• overargumentative
• unargumentative

Related words

• argue
• arguable
• arguably
• argument
• argumentation
• unarguable
• unarguably
• unargued

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West