Etymologically
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computation

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌkɒmpjʊˈteɪʃn̩/[1]
  • US: /ˌkɑmpjʊˈteɪʃn̩/, /ˌkɒmpjʊˈteɪʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English computacion,[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman computation (“calculation”), recorded in Anglo-Norman from the 14th century, and directly borrowed from Latin computātiō (“calculation, reckoning”).[3][4][5] The Latin noun is formed from computātus, the past participle of computō (“to sum up, reckon”),[3][6][7][8] which is the source of compute and is formed from com- (“with, together”) and putō (“to reckon”), originally "to prune".[6] Etymonline traces the Latin verb to Proto-Indo-European *pau- (“to cut, strike, stamp”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action or process of reckoning or counting; arithmetical calculation: c. 1425, in John Lydgate's Troy Book.[3] Etymonline dates the word to about 1400,[6] and Dictionary.com to 1375–1425.[5]

Semantic evolution

From the late 16th century the word also meant the result of a calculation, a computed number or amount (1586), a sense now rare,[3][8] and between 1558 and 1684 it had the wider sense of estimation or consideration.[3] Johnson (1755) gave both "the act of reckoning" and "the sum collected or settled by calculation", quoting Shakespeare's Richard III.[9] The 20th century added the use of electronic computers, and the study of it, recorded from 1953.[3][2]

Timeline

  • c. 1425 – the action of reckoning or calculating.[3]
  • 1558 – estimation, consideration (obsolete by 1684).[3]
  • 1586 – a computed number or amount.[3]
  • 1953 – the use of computers; computer science.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act or process of computing; calculation or reckoning: By her computation, the trip would take nine days.[2][10][3]
  2. The use or operation of a computer, especially as a field of study.[2][3][8]
  3. A result reached by calculation (now rare).[3][8]

Word family

  • computational
  • computationally
  • computative
  • computatively
  • miscomputation
  • noncomputation
  • recomputation

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins