confidential

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌkɒn.fɪˈdɛn.ʃəl/, /ˌkɒn.fɪˈden.ʃəl/ (UK); /ˌkɔn.fɪˈdɛn.ʃəl/, /ˌkɑn.fɪˈdɛn.ʃəl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from confidence (from Latin cōnfīdentia) and -al,^[2] after pairs such as penitence and penitential.^[3] The Latin noun is from cōnfīdō (“to trust”), from fīdō (“to trust”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Indicating private intimacy or the confiding of secrets: 1759 in the OED, Etymonline and Merriam-Webster.^[4][2][3] An earlier, rare sense, confident or bold, is recorded in 1651.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The sense spoken or written in confidence, intended to be kept private, is from 1755–73 in the OED, 1773 in Etymonline.^[4][2] Enjoying another's confidence, entrusted with secrets, as in a confidential secretary, is from 1805.^[2][4] A special sense in government is information whose unauthorized disclosure would threaten national security.^[5]

Timeline

• 1651 – confident, bold (obsolete).^[4]
• 1759 – showing private intimacy.^[4][2]
• 1773 – meant to be kept private.^[2]
• 1805 – entrusted with secrets.^[2][4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Spoken, written or given in confidence; secret, private.
2. Entrusted with another's secrets or private affairs.
3. Showing intimacy: a confidential tone.
4. Of official information, classified as secret to a lower degree.

Word family

• confidentiality
• confidentially
• nonconfidential

Related words

• confide
• confidence
• confident
• faith
• fidelity

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ 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
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin