designation

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēsignātiō (“a marking out, specification; appointment”),^[2][3][4][5] partly through designacion,^[3][4][6] and partly, especially in the obsolete sense "purpose", formed in English on design with the suffix -ation.^[2] The Latin noun comes from dēsignō (“to mark out, devise, choose, appoint”),^[3][7][8] formed from dē- (“out”) and signō (“to mark”), from signum (“an identifying mark”), the source of sign.^[3] The OED notes that it was sometimes confused with dissignātiō (“plan, arrangement”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of marking or pointing out; indication by a word or sign: a1398, in John Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus,^[2][9] the late 14th century in Etymonline, spelled designacioun, with the senses "notation, representation".^[3]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart notes that the meanings of the Latin verb were divided in English between designate and design.^[9] From 1573 the noun was used in Scots law for setting apart a manse or glebe for the minister, and since 1609 more generally for setting something aside for a purpose.^[2][6] The sense "appointment or nomination to an office" appeared in 1605, in Francis Bacon.^[2][4] Johnson (1755) gave both "the act of pointing out" and "appointment".^[10] The sense "a descriptive name or title" is recorded from 1614,^[2][11] though Etymonline dates it from 1824, originally of a title or occupation added to a name;^[3] in law, from 1687, the profession and residence added to a name for identification.^[2] A designation of a wine, its guaranteed region or quality, is recorded from 1830,^[2] and the designation of a place for special status from 1839.^[2] The senses "drawing" and "purpose" are obsolete.^[2]

Timeline

• a1398 – the act of marking or pointing out.^[2]
• 1573 – (Scots law) setting apart a manse or glebe.^[2]
• 1605 – appointment to an office.^[2][4]
• 1614 – a descriptive name or title.^[2]
• 1658–1806 – (obsolete) purpose, intention.^[2]
• 1687 – (law) a statement of profession or residence added to a name.^[2]
• 1830 – the official designation of a wine.^[2]
• 1839 – the conferring of special status on a place.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A name, title or mark by which something is identified: The aircraft's official designation is a string of letters and numbers.
2. The act of designating or the state of being designated; appointment or nomination to a post.
3. The act of giving a place an official status: the designation of the valley as a national park.
4. The setting aside of something, especially money, for a particular purpose.

Word family

• redesignation
• self-designation

Related words

• designate
• design
• sign
• signal
• signify

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
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. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)