conversation

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌkɒn.vəˈseɪ.ʃᵊn/, US /ˌkɑːn.vɚˈseɪ.ʃᵊn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English conversacioun,^[2] borrowed from Old French conversacion (“behaviour, way of life, monastic life”),^[3][4] and directly from Latin conversātiō (“frequent abode in a place, intercourse”),^[3][2][4] from conversārī (“to live, dwell, keep company with”),^[3][4] from com- (“with”) and versāre, frequentative of vertere (“to turn”),^[3] from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to turn, bend”).^[3] It is related to converse.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Living or having one's being in a place: before 1340 in the OED,^[6] and the mid-14th century in Etymonline, as “a place where one lives” and “manner of conducting oneself”.^[3] Both senses are obsolete.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Latin the verb meant to mix with people.^[7] The word once meant “living among”, and also familiarity or intimacy, as when Milton spoke in 1645 of “wedded conversation”.^[7] It was a synonym for sexual intercourse from the late 14th century,^[3] and criminal conversation was a legal term for adultery from the late 18th century.^[3][7] A circle of acquaintance or company is from 1620.^[6] The talking sense, an informal exchange of thoughts and words, is from 1580,^[6] the late 16th century in Word Origins.^[7] A conversation piece was a painting of a group as if in conversation (1712) and then a subject for conversation (1784).^[3] In Scotland a conversation lozenge was a sweet stamped with a motto.^[8]

Timeline

• before 1340 – living in a place.^[6]
• c. 1340 – dealings with others.^[6]
• c. 1511 – sexual intimacy.^[6]
• 1580 – talk, discourse.^[6]
• 1620 – company, society.^[6]
• 1712 – conversation piece, a painting.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An informal spoken exchange of thoughts and feelings; a talk.
2. An informal discussion between representatives of governments or organizations.
3. (computing) A real-time exchange with a computer.

Word family

• conversational
• conversationally
• conversation piece
• criminal conversation
• conversation pit

Related words

• converse
• conversant
• convert
• verse
• version

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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ 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)