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chronological

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌkɹɒnəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl/[1]
  • US: /ˌkɹɑnəˈlɑd͡ʒɪkəl/, /ˌkɹɒnəˈlɒd͡ʒɪkəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English chronology + -ical.[2][3][4] The OED analyses it as the earlier adjective chronologic with the suffix -al, both recorded from the 1610s.[5][2][3] Chronology is from French chronologie or directly New Latin chronologia,[2] from Ancient Greek χρόνος (khrónos, “time”) and -λογία (-logía, “discourse”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Arranged in the order of time, or in keeping with chronology: 1614, in Walter Raleigh's History of the World;[5][6] Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford date it to the 1610s, the early 17th century.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From before 1691, in Boyle, it also meant dealing with chronology as a subject.[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "relating to the doctrine of time".[7] The phrase chronological order is recorded by 1754,[2] and the adverb chronologically from the late 17th century.[3] Merriam-Webster also records the sense "reckoned in units of time", as in chronological age, a person's age in years as distinct from their development.[6]

Timeline

  • 1610s – chronologic, the shorter form.[2][3]
  • 1614 – arranged in order of time.[5][6]
  • before 1691 – relating to or dealing with chronology.[5]
  • 1754 – chronological order.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Arranged in the order in which events happened: The letters were filed in chronological order.[8][6][5]
  2. Relating to or dealing with chronology.[8][6][5]
  3. Measured in units of time, as in chronological age, age counted in years.[6]

Word family

  • chronologically
  • unchronological
  • chronological age
  • chronology
  • chronicle
  • chronograph
  • chronologic
  • chronometer

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins