Etymologically
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cumulative

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈkjuːmjʊlətɪv/, /ˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪtɪv/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English cumulate + -ive,[2][3] the verb being from Latin cumulō (“to heap up”), from cumulus (“heap”).[4][5] The OED and Etymonline instead take it straight from cumulātus, the participle of the Latin verb, with the English suffix.[5][4] Etymonline traces cumulus to a suffixed form of Proto-Indo-European *keue- (“to swell”).[4] The OED and the Shorter Oxford compare French cumulatif.[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Formed by heaping up or accumulation, as opposed to growing organically: 1605, in Francis Bacon, "As for knowledge which man receiveth by teaching, it is cumulative and not original".[5][2][6] This sense was used only in the early 17th century.[2][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The lasting sense, "increasing by successive additions", appeared in the mid-17th century: the OED's first record is from 1668,[5] while Etymonline finds it implied in cumulatively in the 1640s.[4] It was used especially of evidence and arguments that grow in force as further points are added.[5][6] The phrase cumulative effect is recorded from 1856.[5] Specialized uses followed: in Scots law, of a jurisdiction shared with another (1746);[5][2] cumulative voting, in which each voter has as many votes as there are seats and may give them all to one candidate (1853, in J. S. Mill);[5][2] in mathematics, of an error (1887) and, since 1950, of a probability distribution.[5] In finance, cumulative shares or dividends are those whose unpaid dividends accrue until they can be paid.[7][2][8]

Timeline

  • 1605 – formed by accumulation rather than growth (obsolete), in Bacon.[5][6]
  • 1640s – increasing by additions, implied in cumulatively.[4]
  • 1668 – arising from accumulation; growing in force by successive additions.[5]
  • 1746 – in Scots law, of jurisdiction: concurrent.[5]
  • 1853 – cumulative vote.[5]
  • 1856 – cumulative effect.[5]
  • 1873 – tending to accumulate.[5]
  • 1887 – in mathematics, of an error.[5]
  • 1950 – of a probability distribution.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Growing in amount, strength or effect by successive additions: the cumulative toll of years of drought.[6][7][8]
  2. Resulting from or gained by gradual accumulation.[7][8]
  3. (finance) Of dividends or interest: added to the next payment if not paid when due; of preference shares, entitling the holder to such arrears.[7][8][2]
  4. (statistics) Of a frequency or distribution: including all values up to a given value.[7][2]
  5. (law) Of evidence, supporting a point already proved by other evidence; of a sentence, taking effect when another ends; of a penalty, more severe for a repeat offence.[6][8]
  6. cumulative voting: a system in which each voter has as many votes as there are seats and may give them all to one candidate.[2][5]

Word family

  • cumulatively
  • cumulativeness
  • noncumulative
  • cumulative distribution function
  • cumulative voting

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin