Etymologically
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commitment

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəˈmɪt.mənt/[1]

Etymology

It is from English commit + -ment.[2][3] Anglo-French had commettement.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The official consigning of someone to custody, as to prison: 1610s in Etymonline, 1621 in the OED, 1603 in MWU.[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The referring of a bill to a committee is from 1640–41,[4] and the committing of an offence, from 1611, is now obsolete.[4][3] A warrant to commit someone to prison is from 1755.[4] The pledging of oneself to a course of action, a promise, is from 1793,[2][4] which led to an obligation or engagement in 1864.[2]

Timeline

  • 1603 – first known use.[5]
  • 1621 – consigning to custody.[4]
  • 1640–41 – referring a bill to committee.[4]
  • 1793 – a pledge.[2][4]
  • 1864 – an obligation.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A promise or pledge to do something.
  2. Dedication to a cause, activity or person.
  3. An obligation that limits one's freedom of action.
  4. The official sending of a person to prison or to a mental hospital.
  5. The referral of a bill to a committee.

Word family

  • noncommitment
  • precommitment

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 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 c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster