Etymologically
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conversation

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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
  • 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)