Etymologically
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declaration

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌdɛk.ləˈɹeɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English declaracioun, borrowed from Middle French declaration and directly Latin dēclārātiō (“a making clear, disclosure”),[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of dēclārāre (“to make clear, reveal, announce”) (see declare),[2][4] from dē-, intensive, and clārāre, to clarify, from clārus, clear.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Stating or announcing openly: 1340 in the OED;[5] an explanation, the late 14th century in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

Making clear something obscure is from about 1374,[5] and the exposition of a topic from 1382.[5] A proclamation or formal public statement is from about 1400.[2] A declaration of war is from 1387 in the OED and by 1762 in Etymonline.[5][2] A document making a formal announcement is from the 1650s,[2] and the American Declaration of Independence of 1776 seems to be the first so called, though the title is not in the document itself.[2] A declaration of love, a proposal, is from 1739–40,[5] and the declaration of the poll from 1835.[5] In law it is also a plaintiff's formal statement of his claim, and in customs a statement of goods subject to duty.[6][7]

Timeline

  • 1340 – an open statement.[5]
  • 1387 – declaration of war.[5]
  • 1650s – a formal document.[2]
  • 1739–40 – a declaration of love.[5]
  • 1776 – Declaration of Independence.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A formal or explicit statement or announcement.
  2. The act of declaring.
  3. A statement of goods or property subject to duty or tax.
  4. (law) A formal statement of the facts of a claim, or an unsworn statement of a witness.

Word family

  • counterdeclaration
  • nondeclaration
  • predeclaration
  • redeclaration
  • declare
  • declarative
  • clear
  • clarify
  • clarity

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins