computational

Etymology

It is formed from English computation + -al.^[2][3] The noun computation comes from Anglo-Norman computation (“calculation”) and its source Latin computātiō (“calculation, reckoning”),^[3] from computō (“to sum up, reckon”), from com- (“with, together”) and putō (“to reckon; originally to prune”).^[2][4] The OED compares the earlier adjective computative.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to computation: 1857 according to Etymonline;^[2] the OED's first quotation is from 1881, in the journal Observatory.^[3][5] The Shorter Oxford dates it to the late 19th century.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first referred to arithmetical calculation, the sense of computation since the 15th century.^[2][3] When computation came to mean the use of electronic computers, recorded from 1953,^[3] the adjective followed it: the OED adds the sense "relating to or using computers",^[5][3] which is now the usual one in names of fields such as computational linguistics.^[1]

Timeline

• 1857 – of the nature of a computation (Etymonline).^[2]
• 1881 – relating to computation, the OED's first quotation.^[3]
• 1953 – computation, the use of computers, which the adjective came to share.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or used for calculation: a computational mistake in the budget.^[7][3][1]
2. Relating to or making use of computers: computational models of the climate.^[3][5]

Word family

• computational linguistics
• computationally

Related words

• computation
• compute
• computer
• computative

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster