definition

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌdef.ɪˈnɪʃ.ən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English diffinicioun, definicion,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French definicion, or directly from Latin definitionem (“a bounding; a limiting, prescribing; a definition, explanation”),^[2][4] the last sense mostly in Cicero,^[2] a noun of action from dēfīnīre “to set bounds to, determine, explain”,^[2][4][3] from de- “completely” and finire “to bound, limit”, from finis “boundary, end”.^[2] It is related to define, finish and finite.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The determining of a question at issue, a decision: 1382 in the OED.^[5] Etymonline gives the late 14th century for decision, the setting of boundaries and the statement of the meaning of a word.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The setting of limits, a restriction, is from about 1386, now obsolete.^[5] A precise statement of the essential nature of a thing is from 1398,^[5] and of the meaning of a word or phrase from perhaps before 1500.^[5] In logic, the act of stating what something means is from the 1640s,^[2] 1645 in the OED.^[5] The action of making definite, distinctness, is from 1859,^[5] and the distinctness of detail in a photograph or television picture from 1889.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1382 – a decision.^[5]
• c. 1386 – a limitation.^[5]
• 1398 – a statement of a thing's nature.^[5]
• c. 1500 – the meaning of a word.^[5]
• 1645 – in logic.^[5]
• 1889 – the sharpness of a picture.^[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A statement of the meaning of a word or phrase, as in a dictionary.
2. A statement of the essential nature of something.
3. The act of defining.
4. Clearness of outline or detail, as of an image or sound.
5. by definition: by its very nature.

Word family

• definitional
• definitionally
• redefinition
• high-definition

Related words

• define
• definiendum
• definiens
• definite
• definitive
• finish
• finite

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 c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press