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artwork

Etymology and origin of the English word artwork

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1847

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɑːtˌwɜːk/ (UK); /ˈɑɹtˌwɝk/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of art and work,[2] also written art-work, perhaps modelled on German Kunstwerk.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Artistic work, paintings and drawings: 1847.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

A work of art in general is from 1859 in HTOED.[4] The illustrative or decorative material in printed matter, as distinct from the text, is from 1926,[4] the usual sense in British dictionaries.[5][6]

Timeline

  • 1847 – artistic work.[2]
  • 1859 – a work of art.[4]
  • 1926 – illustrations in printed matter.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Drawings, photographs and other illustrations prepared for a book, magazine or advertisement.
  2. Paintings, drawings and other works of art.

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  5. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Artwork.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/artwork. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·