convenience

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kənˈviːnɪəns/ (UK); /kənˈvinjəns/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, from Middle French or directly borrowed from Latin convenientia (“a meeting together, agreement, harmony”),^[2][3][4] from conveniēns, present participle of convenīre, to come together, agree, be suitable (see convene, convenient),^[2][5] from com-, together, and venīre, to come (from Proto-Indo-European *gwa-, to go, come).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Agreement, conformity, congruity: the late 14th century in Etymonline, 1413 in the OED; now obsolete.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Fitness, aptitude (about 1430) and an agreement or covenant (1551) are obsolete.^[6] The quality of being suitable or well adapted to one's purpose is from 1601.^[6] That which gives ease or comfort, a convenient article or appliance, is from the 1670s,^[2] and the quality of being personally easy from 1703.^[2] A lavatory, especially a public one, is a British euphemism.^[7][8] Convenience store is attested by 1965,^[2] and the adjective, convenience food, is from 1917 in Merriam-Webster.^[3] A verb convenience, to accommodate, was used from the mid-17th century.^[4][9]

Timeline

• 1413 – agreement.^[6]
• 1601 – suitability.^[6]
• 1670s – a convenient article.^[2]
• 1703 – personal ease.^[2]
• 1917 – convenience (adjective).^[3]
• 1965 – convenience store.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The quality of being suitable or easy to use; usefulness or ease.
2. Personal comfort or advantage: at your convenience.
3. A labour-saving device or useful thing.
4. (chiefly British, euphemistic) A public lavatory.

Word family

• convenience food
• convenience store
• flag of convenience
• marriage of convenience
• public convenience

Related words

• convene
• convenient
• convent
• convention
• venue

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)