Etymologically
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congressional

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəŋˈɡɹɛ.ʃə.nəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from congress and -al, with -ion- inserted after Latin congressio (“a meeting”).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to a congress: before 1691 in the OED, the 1690s in Etymonline.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Of the Congress of the American states it is from 1775–76.[5][2] The word was at first reviled as barbarous, but Pickering (1816) quotes an English correspondent: The term Congress belonging to America, the Americans may employ its derivatives, without waiting for the assent of the English.[2] Bartlett's dictionary of Americanisms (1848) cites Webster and Marshall for it.[6]

Timeline

  • before 1691 – of a congress.[5]
  • 1775 – of the US Congress.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to a congress, especially the Congress of the United States.

Word family

  • congressionalist
  • congressionally
  • precongressional
  • uncongressional
  • congressional district

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Bartlett, John Russell (1848), Dictionary of Americanisms, New York: Bartlett and Welford