communicative

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English communicatif,^[2] partly borrowed from Middle French communicatif and partly borrowed from Medieval Latin commūnicātīvus,^[3][4][2][5] from Latin commūnicō (“to share, impart, communicate”) and -īvus.^[3][4][5] The Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English take it from Late Latin alone.^[6][7] The French word is recorded from 1282 in Old French, meaning "liberal", and the post-classical Latin one from the 6th century.^[3] The Latin verb, literally "to make common", is related to commūnis (“common, public”), the source of common.^[2] Compare Catalan comunicatiu, Spanish comunicativo, Portuguese comunicativo and Italian comunicativo.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a thing, having the quality of passing itself on; diffusive, contagious: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus.^[3] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century, in the general sense "that communicates".^[2]

Semantic evolution

The first senses were about things that spread themselves (until 1776),^[3] and in the 16th and 17th centuries the word also meant "communicable" (1601), "generous, liberal" (before 1602) and "sociable" (1602), all now obsolete.^[3] Johnson (1755) still defined it as "inclined to make advantages common; liberal of benefits or knowledge; not close; not selfish", quoting Swift and Pope's resolve "to be less communicative".^[8] The sense "ready to talk or give information, frank", from 1651, became the most common one;^[3][2] "expressive" followed in 1664, and "of or relating to communication" in 1670.^[3] The phrase communicative justice (before 1513) follows Aquinas's Latin iustitia communicativa.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1398 – of a thing, diffusive, contagious (obsolete).^[3]
• before 1513 – communicative justice.^[3]
• 1601 – communicable (obsolete).^[3]
• before 1602 – generous, liberal (obsolete).^[3]
• 1602 – sociable, not reserved (obsolete).^[3]
• 1651 – ready to impart information; frank, talkative.^[3] Etymonline dates this sense to the 1650s.^[2]
• 1664 – effective in conveying meaning; expressive.^[3]
• 1670 – of or relating to communication.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Willing or ready to talk and share information; talkative, open: The witness was not very communicative.^[9][4][3]
2. Of or relating to communication: communicative skills.^[9][3]
3. Effective at conveying meaning; expressive.^[3][4]
4. (archaic) Inclined to give; generous, liberal.^[4][3][8]
5. (obsolete, 1398–1776) Able to spread or pass itself on; diffusive.^[4][3]

Word family

• communicatively
• communicativeness
• uncommunicative
• incommunicative
• noncommunicative
• communicative competence

Related words

• communicate
• common
• communicable

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins