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concentration

Etymology and origin of the English word concentration

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1634

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌkɒn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/ (UK); /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the verb concentrate and -ation,[2][3] or, in MWU's analysis, from com-, Latin centrum (“centre”) and the same suffix.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of bringing things towards a common centre: 1634 in the OED and MWU,[5][4] the 1630s in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

A mass collected in this way is from the 1670s.[2] The strengthening of a solution in chemistry is from 1790.[5] The steady focusing of the mind is from 1825, in phrenology,[2] before 1846 in the OED.[5] The concentration camp is from 1901, at first a compound for non-combatants in a war zone during the Second Boer War, an idea controversial from the start.[2] It was used in 1902 of US policy in the Philippines, and of Nazi German prisons for dissidents and minorities from 1934 and Soviet ones from 1935.[2]

Timeline

  • 1634 – bringing to a centre.[5][4]
  • 1670s – a concentrated mass.[2]
  • 1790 – in chemistry.[5]
  • 1825 – mental concentration.[2]
  • 1901 – concentration camp.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Close, undivided attention.
  2. The act of concentrating, or a dense gathering of things in one place.
  3. The amount of a substance in a given volume of a solution or mixture.

Word family

  • hemoconcentration
  • hyperconcentration
  • mascon
  • nonconcentration
  • overconcentration
  • preconcentration
  • reconcentration
  • concentration cell
  • concentrate
  • centre
  • concentric
  • concentration camp

References

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

“Concentration.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/concentration. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·