conversion

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kənˈvɝʒən/; /kənˈvɜːʃ(ə)n/, /-ʒ(ə)n/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English conversioun, borrowed from Old French conversion (“change, transformation; entry into religious life”),^[2][3][4] from Latin conversio (“a turning round; change”), a noun of action from convertere (“to turn around, transform”) (see convert), from com- and vertere (“to turn”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The turning of a sinner to righteousness and the love of God: about 1340, in a Middle English Psalter;^[2] the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A change from one religion to another, especially to Christianity, is from about 1400.^[3] The general sense, transformation from one state to another, is from the early 15th century, probably before 1425 in Barnhart.^[3][2] Turning round or revolving (1540) and turning back (1553) are obsolete senses.^[5] In law, conversion is the wrongful use of another's property as one's own.^[6][7] Changing a building to another use is from 1921,^[3] and in rugby and American football a conversion is the kick or play that adds points after a try or touchdown.^[6][7] Conversion disorder, hysteria, is from 1946.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1340 – religious conversion.^[2]
• c. 1400 – change of religion.^[3]
• before 1425 – transformation.^[2]
• 1921 – conversion of a building.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of changing something into a different form or use.
2. A change in religious faith or other belief.
3. A building altered for a new use: a barn conversion.
4. (rugby, American football) A score made after a try or touchdown.
5. (law) The unlawful treatment of another's property as one's own.

Word family

• conversional
• nonconversion
• seroconversion
• bioconversion
• interconversion
• preconversion
• conversion disorder
• internal conversion

Related words

• convert
• converse
• version
• vertical
• revert

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins