Etymologically
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bedrock

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 00:22. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈbɛd.ɹɒk/[1]
  • US: /ˈbɛdˌɹɑk/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English bed + rock.[2][3][4][5] Dictionary.com marks it as an Americanism.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In geology, the solid rock lying beneath softer deposits such as alluvium and soil: 1839, in the Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal.[2][4] Etymonline dates it to 1850.[3]

Semantic evolution

The figurative senses began in the United States,[2] where they are first recorded in Western newspapers.[2] From 1855 bedrock meant the fundamental principles on which something rests.[2] From 1864 it appears in phrases such as at bedrock and down to bedrock, both for the point of being penniless and for the bare essentials of something;[2] the OED compares rock-bottom.[2] Etymonline dates the figurative use to 1869.[3] The word was used as an adjective, "fundamental", from 1864 in the OED,[2] 1873 in Merriam-Webster and 1881 in Etymonline.[4][3] From 1871 it also described the lowest price a business can sustain.[2] Collins gives the phrase get down to bedrock, to reach the basic facts.[6]

Timeline

  • 1839 – the solid rock beneath soil and loose deposits.[2][4] Etymonline dates it to 1850.[3]
  • 1855 – figurative, the fundamental principles of something.[2]
  • 1864 – at bedrock, penniless, and down to bedrock, down to the bare essentials, and as an adjective, fundamental.[2]
  • 1871 – adjective, of a price, the lowest that can be sustained.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The solid rock lying beneath the soil and other loose surface material.[6][4][7][2]
  2. The foundation or basic principles of something: Trust is the bedrock of any partnership.[6][4][7][2]
  3. The lowest point or level; the bare minimum: By winter the firm's cash reserves had reached bedrock.[6][4][7][2]

Adjective

  1. Basic, fundamental: bedrock beliefs.[4][2]
  • rock-bottom

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 n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt