colleague

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈkɒl.iːɡ/, US /ˈkɑː.liːɡ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French collègue,^[2][3][4] a learned borrowing of Latin collēga (“partner in office”), literally one chosen together with another,^[2][3][5] from col- (com-), together, and lēgāre, to send or choose as a deputy (see legate).^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

One associated with another in office or employment: 1524 in the OED,^[6] before 1533 in Barnhart, the 1530s in Etymonline.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

A confederate or ally was an obsolete sense of 1670.^[6] The verb colleague, to unite or ally (about 1534), is a different word, from Middle French colliguer, Latin colligāre, to bind together, now obsolete.^[6][5]

Timeline

• 1524 – an associate in office.^[6]
• c. 1534 – to ally (verb, obsolete).^[6]
• 1670 – an ally (obsolete).^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who works with another in the same profession, office or staff; an associate.

Word family

• colleagueship

Related words

• collegial
• collegiate
• legate
• college
• delegate
• league

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press