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consist

Etymology and origin of the English word consist

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1526
Borrowed from
Middle French consister
Ultimate origin
Latin (sistō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kənˈsɪst/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French consister or directly Latin cōnsistō (“to stand firm, take a position, exist”),[2][3][4][5] from con-, here intensive, and sistō (“to cause to stand, place”), related to stō (“to stand”) (see stand),[2][3][5][6] from Proto-Indo-European *sta- (“to stand, make or be firm”).[3] The same Latin verb is in assist, desist, exist, insist and resist.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To exist, to be made of parts: 1526 in Barnhart, the 1520s in Etymonline.[2][3] The NODE gives a late Middle English sense, to be located or inherent in.[8]

Semantic evolution

Consist on or upon, to rest upon, is from about 1534, now obsolete.[9] To stand firm is from 1542, to coexist from 1548, and to have a settled existence from 1551.[9] With of, to be composed of, it is from the 1560s,[3] and to be consistent from 1638.[9][3] Consistency is from 1594 and consistence from 1598.[2]

Timeline

  • 1526 – to exist, consist.[2]
  • c. 1534 – consist on, rest upon.[9]
  • 1560s – to be composed of.[3]
  • 1594 – consistency.[2]
  • 1638 – to be consistent.[9]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. consist of: to be made up or composed of: syrup consists of sugar and water.
  2. consist in: to have its basis or essence in; to lie in.
  3. To be compatible; to accord.

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Consist.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/consist. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·