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consistence

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Etymology and origin of the English word consistence

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1598 John Florio, A Worlde of Wordes More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
French consistence
Ultimate origin
Latin sistō

Pronunciation

  • UK: /kənˈsɪst(ə)ns/[1]
  • US: /kənˈsɪstəns/[1]

Etymology

It is apparently borrowed from French consistence,[2][3] a 16th-century form recorded in Paré, now consistance;[2][4] Merriam-Webster Unabridged derives it from Middle French consistance, from consistant, the present participle of consister.[5] The Shorter Oxford also allows a source in Late Latin cōnsistentia,[4] and the OED takes the French word back to a medieval Latin form of that shape, compare Italian consistenza and Spanish consistencia.[2][3] The Latin noun is formed from Latin cōnsistēns, the present participle of cōnsistō (“to stand firm, take a stand, stop”),[3][2][4] formed from com- (“with, together”) and sistō (“to place”), the causative of stō (“to stand”), from Proto-Indo-European *sta- (“to stand, make or be firm”).[3] It has the same source as consistency, recorded a few years earlier, in 1594, from the same Latin participle.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Standing or remaining still; a state of rest: 1598, in John Florio's Italian–English dictionary A Worlde of Wordes.[2] Etymonline dates the word to the 1590s,[3] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged to 1601.[5]

Semantic evolution

The first senses, all now obsolete, kept the Latin idea of standing still: a state of rest (1598–1641), the "standing still" of a living being between full growth and decay (before 1613 to 1728), continuance (1606) and a settled state of affairs (1661–1702).[2][4] From 1626, in Bacon, it was used of matter that holds together and keeps its form, and of the degree of firmness or density of a substance, usually of a thick liquid;[2][3][4] these are the senses in which it is still used.[4][5] From 1670 it could also mean agreement or harmony, like consistency.[2][4] The two words have long shared their senses: the OED defines several of the senses of consistency by those of consistence,[2] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged defines consistence simply as consistency.[5]

Timeline

  • 1598 – standing still, a state of rest (obsolete by 1641).[2]
  • 1606 – continuance, a lasting state (obsolete).[2]
  • before 1613 – of a living being, the stage between full growth and decay (obsolete by 1728).[2]
  • 1626 – material coherence, firmness enough to keep a form; also the degree of density of a substance, both in Bacon.[2][3]
  • 1641 – a union of cohering elements, in Milton (obsolete by 1676).[2]
  • 1661 – a settled condition of affairs (obsolete by 1702).[2]
  • 1667 – matter dense enough to cohere, in Paradise Lost (obsolete or poetic).[2]
  • 1670 – agreement, harmony, consistency.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The degree of firmness, thickness or density of a substance, especially of a liquid: Stir the sauce until it reaches the consistence of cream.[4][2][5]
  2. Firmness or coherence enough for a substance to keep its form.[4][2]
  3. Agreement or harmony; consistency.[4][2][5]
  4. (obsolete, 1598–1641) A standing still; a state of rest.[2][4]

Word family

  • inconsistence

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Consistence.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/consistence. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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