Etymologically
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decorative

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:24. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈdɛk.ə.ɹə.tɪv/, /ˈdɛk.ɹə.tɪv/[1]
  • US: /ˈdɛk.ə.ɹə.tɪv/, /ˈdɛk.ɹə.tɪv/[1]

Etymology

In its modern use it is from English decorate + -ive,[2][3][4] or, as the OED puts it, the Latin participial stem decorātus with the English suffix.[5] The verb decorate comes from Latin decorō (“to adorn, embellish”), from decus (“ornament, grace, honour”), which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- (“to take, accept”), on the notion of adding grace.[6] An earlier, isolated use in the 15th century came from decoratif,[3][6] a word the OED finds in Old French in the 15th century and again in the French Academy's dictionary of 1878.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Etymonline records an early 15th-century use meaning “beautifying”, of something made to remove or cover up blemishes,[6] and SOED calls this late Middle English use isolated.[3] The word in its current sense dates from 1791, in William Chambers's treatise on civil architecture.[5][4]

Semantic evolution

Since 1791 it has meant having to do with decoration, ornamental.[6][5] Merriam-Webster also records a sense for something with a purely ornamental function, and one for a work of art that pleases the senses at once without regard to meaning.[4] SOED records the phrase decorative arts, and dates the derivatives decorativeness to the mid-19th century and decoratively to the late 19th.[3]

Timeline

  • early 15th century – beautifying, removing blemishes (isolated).[6][3]
  • 1791 – ornamental, having to do with decoration.[5][4]
  • mid-19th century – decorativeness.[3]
  • late 19th century – decoratively.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Serving to decorate; ornamental: a decorative border of painted tiles.
  2. Having a purely ornamental function rather than a practical one.
  3. Of a work of art: giving immediate pleasure to the senses without regard to meaning.

Word family

  • decoratively
  • decorativeness
  • nondecorative
  • undecorative
  • overdecorative

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com