Etymologically
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censorship

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsɛnsəʃɪp/ (UK); /ˈsɛnsɚʃɪp/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is from English censor + -ship.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The office or function of a censor: 1591 in the OED, the 1590s in Etymonline, about 1591 in Merriam-Webster.[3][2][4]

Semantic evolution

The office of a Roman censor is from 1600.[3] The action of censoring is from 1824,[2] and censorship of the press specifically from 1827.[3] In psychology, the mind's suppression of disturbing thoughts before they reach consciousness is from 1924.[3][5]

Timeline

  • 1591 – the office of a censor.[3]
  • 1600 – the Roman censorship.[3]
  • 1824 – the act of censoring.[2]
  • 1827 – press censorship.[3]
  • 1924 – censorship in psychology.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The suppression or control of books, films, news or other material considered objectionable or dangerous.
  2. The office of a Roman censor.
  3. (psychoanalysis) The mind's regulation of unconscious impulses before they reach consciousness.

Word family

  • anticensorship
  • precensorship
  • procensorship
  • self-censorship

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. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin