Etymologically
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attendance

Etymology and origin of the English word attendance

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1374
Borrowed from
Old French atendance
Ultimate origin
Old French (atendre)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əˈtɛn.dəns/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English attendaunce, borrowed from Old French atendance (“attention, wait, expectation”),[2][3][4] from atendant, the present participle of atendre (“to expect, wait for; to pay attention”) (see attend).[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The application of one's mind, attention: about 1374 in the OED;[6] the act of attending to one's duties, the late 14th century in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

Waiting upon or accompanying a person, service, is from about 1386,[6] and to dance attendance on someone from the 1560s.[2][6] The action of being present, as at a meeting or service, is from the mid-15th century (about 1460).[2][6] Waiting or expectation is an obsolete 17th-century sense, as is a body of attendants (1607).[6] The number of people present is from 1835,[2][6] and taking attendance in a classroom is by 1891.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1374 – attention.[6]
  • c. 1386 – waiting upon a person.[6]
  • c. 1460 – being present.[6]
  • 1560s – dance attendance.[2]
  • 1835 – the number present.[2][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of being present at a place or event.
  2. The number of people present.
  3. Regular presence, as at school or work.
  4. (in attendance) Present, especially to serve or help.

Word family

  • unattendance
  • nonattendance

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Attendance.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/attendance. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·