convenient
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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
- Fitting in well with a person's needs, activities or plans.
- Involving little trouble or effort.
- 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
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press