Etymologically
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component

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /kəmˈpəʊ.nənt/, US /kəmˈpoʊ.nənt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin compōnēns (“putting together”) (accusative compōnentem),[2][3][4] the present participle of compōnere (“to put together, compose”),[2][5] from com “together” and pōnere “to put, place” (see position).[2][3] Compare compound.[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A constituent element or part: 1645 in Barnhart, the OED and MWU.[2][7][5] An earlier noun, perhaps one who helps make up a group or a compounder, is from 1563.[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective, composing or constituting, is from 1664.[2][7] In mechanics one of two or more vectors that together equal a given one is from 1806,[7] and in physical chemistry a constituent of a system from 1876.[7] The separate parts of motor cars and bicycles are components from 1896,[3][7] and electrical components such as resistors came later.[8]

Timeline

  • 1563 – a compounder.[7]
  • 1645 – a constituent part.[2][7]
  • 1664 – the adjective.[2]
  • 1806 – a component of a vector.[7]
  • 1896 – a part of a machine.[3][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. One of the parts that make up a whole; a constituent.
  2. A part of a machine or vehicle, or an electrical device such as a resistor.
  3. (mathematics) One of two or more vectors whose sum equals a given vector.

Adjective

  1. Being one of the parts of a whole.

Word family

  • componential
  • componented
  • bicomponent
  • componentry
  • microcomponent
  • subcomponent

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 h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins