Etymologically
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departmental

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 00:47. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪpɑːtˈmɛntəl/, /ˌdiːpɑtˈmɛntəl/[1]
  • US: /dɪpɑɹtˈmɛntəl/, /ˌdiːpɑɹtˈmɛntəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French départemental,[2][3] from département, the source of department, and the suffix -al.[2] The Shorter Oxford instead treats it as formed in English with the suffix -al.[4] The French noun is a derivative of départir (“to divide”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to a French département, one of the administrative divisions created during the Revolution: 1791, in James Mackintosh's Vindiciae Gallicae.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word entered English through French politics, and the general sense "relating to a department or branch of government, or of any organized system" followed in 1832, in Southey.[2][3] From 1883 it could also refer to any district or region,[2] and since 1911 to a store made up of several departments; the Shorter Oxford records departmental store as a synonym of department store.[2][4] Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1848) listed the word, quoting Burke on the French departmental guards.[5]

Timeline

  • 1791 – relating to a French département.[2][3][6]
  • 1832 – relating to a department of government or of any organized system.[2][3][6]
  • 1883 – relating to a district or region.[2][6]
  • 1911 – of a store, made up of several departments.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to or belonging to a department of a government, business, university or other organization: a departmental budget.[7][2][4]
  2. Relating to a département of France.[2][3]
  3. Of a store, made up of several departments.[2][4]

Word family

  • departmentalism
  • departmentalize
  • departmental store

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Bartlett, John Russell (1848), Dictionary of Americanisms, New York: Bartlett and Welford
  6. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster