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concentrate

Etymology and origin of the English word concentrate

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1640
Ultimate origin
Italian (concentrare)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɒn.sən.tɹeɪt/ (UK); /ˈkɑn.sən.tɹeɪt/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is a variant of the earlier concentre (1590s), meeting at a common centre,[2][3] probably from Italian concentrare or French concentrer,[2][3][4] from Latin com-, together, and centrum, centre (see center),[3][5] with the English suffix -ate.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To bring or come to a common centre: 1640 in Barnhart, the 1630s in Etymonline, 1646 in the OED.[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

The sense to condense, to increase the strength of a solution, is from 1689 (the 1680s),[6][3][2] and to intensify the action of something from 1758.[3] Figurative use of non-physical things is from 1752.[6] The intransitive sense, to focus the attention, is from 1640 in the OED,[6] but Etymonline dates the mental sense to the 1860s;[3] the NODE dates the current sense to the early 20th century.[7] Separating ore from rock is from 1872.[6] The noun, a substance reduced to a purer state, is from 1883,[3][5] from the adjective concentrate of the 1640s.[3]

Timeline

  • 1640 – to bring to a centre.[2]
  • 1689 – to strengthen a solution.[6]
  • 1758 – to intensify.[3]
  • 1860s – to focus the mind.[3]
  • 1872 – to separate ore.[6]
  • 1883 – the noun.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To direct one's thoughts or attention; to think hard.
  2. To bring or come together toward a common centre; to focus.
  3. To make a solution or mixture denser or stronger, as by removing water.
  4. To remove rock or sand from an ore.

Noun

  1. A concentrated product, especially a food reduced in volume by removing liquid.

Word family

  • concentrative
  • concentratively
  • concentrator
  • concentratedly
  • concentrativeness
  • deconcentrate
  • overconcentrate
  • preconcentrate

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Concentrate.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/concentrate. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·