deliberation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English deliberacioun, also deliberacion,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Middle French deliberation, also deliberacion,^[5][6][4] and directly borrowed from Latin dēlīberātiō (“careful consideration”),^[5][6][7] a noun of action from dēlīberātus, the past participle of dēlīberō (“to consider carefully, consult”).^[2][4][5] The verb is formed from dē- and lībrō (“to balance, make level”), from lībra (“pair of scales, balance”),^[8][2] and Etymonline cites de Vaan for the view that its ī is due to the influence of līberō (“to free”).^[2] The French noun is recorded from the late 13th century,^[5] and Anglo-Norman deliberation from 1290.^[9] Related forms are deliberazione and deliberación (both 13th century).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Careful thought about something, especially before a decision: before 1393, in Gower's Confessio Amantis.^[5] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Chaucer's Tale of Melibee (about 1390) already has the word for the discussion of a proposal by a council, for care and good judgement, and in the phrase to take deliberation, to deliberate or take counsel.^[5][3] In the 16th and 17th centuries a deliberation could also be the decision reached (1579–1653), a sense the French word had from the late 14th century.^[5] A single deliberation, a debate or consultation, is recorded from 1614.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "the act of deliberating; thought in order to choice".^[10] Etymonline dates the sense "slowness in decision or action" to the early 15th century,^[2] while the OED records slowness of movement only from 1838.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1393 – careful consideration before deciding, in Gower.^[5]
• c. 1390 – discussion by a council; care, good judgement, and to take deliberation.^[5]
• 1579 – a resolution or decision (obsolete by 1653).^[5]
• 1614 – a debate or consultation.^[5]
• 1838 – slowness, lack of hurry in movement.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Long and careful consideration of something, especially before making a decision: After weeks of deliberation she accepted the offer.^[11][6][5]
2. Formal discussion and debate of a question by a group, such as a jury or a committee; often in the plural: The council's deliberations went on past midnight.^[11][6][5]
3. Care and slowness in movement or speech; lack of haste: He folded the letter with great deliberation.^[11][5]

Word family

• deliberative
• deliberatively
• deliberativeness
• nondeliberation
• predeliberation

Related words

• deliberate
• deliver
• liberate

Usage notes

A separate deliberation meaning deliverance or setting free, from Medieval Latin dēlīberātiō (“deliverance”) and deliberacion, both from the Latin verb behind deliver, was used from before 1425 to 1503.^[5][3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
4. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins