colonial
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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
- Relating to a colony or colonies, or to colonialism.
- (often Colonial) Of the period of the 13 British colonies in America, especially in architecture or furniture.
- (biology) Living in colonies.
Noun
- An inhabitant of a colony.
Word family
- colonially
- colonialness
- anticolonial
- colonialism
- coloniality
- colonialize
- colonialization
- uncolonial
Related words
- colonization
- colony
- colonist
- colonize
- cultivate
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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