convenient

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kənˈviː.niənt/ (UK); /kənˈvi.njənt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin conveniens (“suitable, agreeing”), the present participle of convenīre (“to come together, agree, suit”) (see convene),^[2][3][4] from com- (“together”) and venīre (“to come”),^[3] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *gwa- (“to go, come”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Suitable for a purpose: about 1374 in the OED; fit, proper, opportune, about 1380, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius.^[5][2][3]

Semantic evolution

Agreeing in opinion and in accordance with (1485, 1526) are obsolete senses,^[5] as is befitting, becoming, NODE's first sense.^[6][5] Personally suitable for ease of action is from the late 15th century.^[3] At hand, easily accessible, as convenient to the station, is from 1849 and marked in the OED as Irish and American.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1374 – suitable for a purpose.^[5]
• c. 1380 – fit, opportune.^[2]
• late 15th century – personally suitable.^[3]
• 1849 – near at hand.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Fitting in well with a person's needs, activities or plans.
2. Involving little trouble or effort.
3. Situated so as to allow easy access: convenient for the shops.

Word family

• conveniently
• superconvenient
• ultraconvenient

Related words

• convene
• convenience
• supervenient
• convent
• convention
• venue

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press