Etymologically
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congress

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈkɒŋ.ɡres/, US /ˈkɑːŋ.ɡrəs/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin congressus (“a coming together, meeting; an encounter”),[2][3][4] from the past participle of congredī (“to meet with; to fight with”),[2][3] from con- (“together”) and gradī (“to step, walk”),[3][5] from gradus (“a step”),[2] the source of grade.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A body of attendants: before 1400 (congrece).[3][2] A meeting of armed forces, a hostile encounter, is from before 1460.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The general sense “a coming together of people, a meeting” is from 1528,[7][4] and sexual union from 1589 in the OED, the 1580s in Etymonline.[7][2] These broad uses survive in social congress and sexual congress.[6] A formal meeting of delegates to discuss and settle a question is from 1678.[7][3] A lawmaking body is from 1765,[3] and the Congress of the United States from 1775, in the letters of Samuel Adams;[3][2] the Continental Congress of the American colonies first met in 1774.[2] An organization that meets from time to time, such as a trade union congress, is from 1870.[7] Johnson (1755) defined it as “a meeting; a shock; a conflict”.[8] Congressional is from 1691.[3]

Timeline

  • before 1400 – a body of attendants.[3]
  • before 1460 – a meeting of armed forces.[3]
  • 1528 – a coming together, a meeting.[7][4]
  • 1589 – sexual union.[7]
  • 1678 – a formal assembly of delegates.[7][3]
  • 1765 – a lawmaking body.[3]
  • 1775 – the US Congress.[3][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A formal assembly of delegates or representatives to discuss common problems.
  2. The national legislature of a country, especially a republic, and in particular that of the United States, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
  3. An association of societies or groups, especially in politics.
  4. (formal) A coming together; sexual intercourse.

Word family

  • congressional
  • congressionally
  • congressperson
  • congresswoman
  • congressman

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.