colonial

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kəˈləʊ.ni.əl/ (UK); /kəˈloʊ.njəl/, /kəˈloʊ.ni.əl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin colonia or English colony and -al,^[2][3] perhaps after French colonial.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or belonging to a colony: 1756 in Etymonline, 1755–73 in the OED;^[2][5] MWU dates it to 1768.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In the United States, belonging to or characteristic of the colonial period, especially of architecture, is from 1776.^[2][5] Of shops dealing in colonial produce it is from 1872,^[5] and in biology, forming a colony, from 1885.^[5] The noun, an inhabitant of a colony, is from 1816 in Etymonline, 1865 in the OED.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1756 – of a colony.^[2]
• 1776 – of the American colonial period.^[2][5]
• 1816 – a colonist (noun).^[2]
• 1885 – in biology.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Relating to a colony or colonies, or to colonialism.
2. (often Colonial) Of the period of the 13 British colonies in America, especially in architecture or furniture.
3. (biology) Living in colonies.

Noun

1. An inhabitant of a colony.

Word family

• colonially
• colonialness
• anticolonial
• colonialism
• coloniality
• colonialize
• colonialization
• uncolonial

Related words

• colonization
• colony
• colonist
• colonize
• cultivate

References

1. ^ 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 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press