construct

Pronunciation

• IPA: verb: /kənˈstrʌkt/; noun: UK /ˈkɒn.strʌkt/, US /ˈkɑːn.strʌkt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cōnstrūctus, past participle of cōnstruere, to pile together, build up,^[2][3][4] from con-, together, and struere, to pile up, build (see structure).^[2][3][4] It may also be a back-formation from the earlier construction (before 1387).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make by fitting parts together: 1663;^[2][5][6] the past participle construct, constructed, is earlier, 1432–50 in the OED, probably before 1425 in Barnhart.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Constructing things of the mind, such as theories, is from 1755,^[5] and in grammar, to arrange words in a sentence, from 1871.^[5] The noun is from 1871 in linguistics, a group of words forming a phrase;^[3][2] 1890 in psychology, an object in the mind formed from sense impressions;^[3] and 1933 in the general sense, anything constructed.^[3] The Hebrew construct state is from 1737.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1387 – construction.^[2]
• 1663 – to construct.^[2][5]
• 1737 – construct state (grammar).^[5]
• 1755 – to construct ideas.^[5]
• 1871 – a construct (linguistics).^[3][2]
• 1890 – a mental construct.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To build or make something by putting parts together.
2. To form an argument, sentence or theory by arranging ideas.
3. (geometry) To draw a figure that meets given conditions.

Noun

1. A concept or model built up in the mind.
2. Something built from parts.

Word family

• constructible
• constructor
• constructive
• preconstruct
• deconstruct
• overconstruct
• reconstruct
• construct state

Related words

• construction
• structure
• destroy
• instruct
• construe

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 i 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. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster