Etymologically
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calculation

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌkælkjuˈleɪʃn̩/[1]
  • US: /ˌkælkjəˈleɪʃn̩/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French calculation,[2][3][4] and also directly from Late Latin calculātiō (“a reckoning, computation”),[5][6][7][8] a noun of action from calculō (“to reckon, compute”),[6][8] from calculus (“a reckoning; a pebble used in counting”), a diminutive of calx (“limestone, small stone”).[6] The verb is also the source of calculate.[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action or process of reckoning, computation: 1393, in John Gower's Confessio Amantis;[2][9] Etymonline dates calculacioun to the late 14th century, in the senses "the art of computing by numbers" and also "the making of a horoscope".[6]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense, the result of a reckoning, is recorded from 1646, in Sir Thomas Browne;[2] Johnson (1755) gave both "a practice or manner of reckoning" and "the result of arithmetical operation".[10] An estimate of probability, a forecast, is recorded from 1848, in Bulwer-Lytton.[2] The sense of careful, often selfish, planning of one's own advantage developed alongside the verb calculate[3][11] and is recorded by Merriam-Webster as deliberate, prudent planning.[5]

Timeline

  • 1393 – reckoning, computation.[2]
  • 1646 – the result of a reckoning.[2]
  • 1848 – an estimate of probability, a forecast.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act or process of working out an amount or number using mathematics: Her calculation of the tax was correct.
  2. The result of such a process.
  3. An estimate of what is likely to happen; a forecast.
  4. Careful planning or forethought, especially for one's own advantage: There was cold calculation behind his generosity.

Word family

  • calculative
  • calculational
  • precalculation

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins