compilation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌkɒm.pɪˈleɪ.ʃən/ (UK); /ˌkɑm.pɪˈleɪ.ʃən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English compilacioun, borrowed from Old French compilacion (“compilation, collection”),^[2][3][4] from Latin compīlātiō (“a compilation; literally a pillaging”),^[2][3] from the past participle stem of compīlō (“to plunder”) (see compile).^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

That which is compiled, a literary work formed by bringing together material from others: 1426 in the OED, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^[5][2] The action of compiling is from about 1430.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Heaping or piling together, accumulation, is from 1598.^[5] In computing, the translation of a program into machine code is from 1960,^[5] and the compilation film, assembled from various sources, from 1953.^[5] A collection of recordings, as a compilation album, is a common modern use.^[6]

Timeline

• 1426 – a compiled work.^[5]
• c. 1430 – the act of compiling.^[5]
• 1598 – accumulation.^[5]
• 1953 – compilation film.^[5]
• 1960 – compilation in computing.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Something compiled, such as a list, report, anthology or collection of recordings.
2. The act or process of compiling.
3. (computing) The translation of a program into machine code by a compiler.

Word family

• precompilation
• recompilation

Related words

• compile
• compiler
• pile

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins