Etymologically
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destination

Etymology and origin of the English word destination

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1598
Borrowed from
Latin destinatio
Ultimate origin
Latin (sto)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēstinātio (“purpose, design; determination”),[2][3][4] perhaps through French,[5] from dēstināre (“to determine, appoint, make firm”) (see destine),[2] from dē- (“completely”) and a form related to stāre (“to stand”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of appointing or destining someone or something for a purpose: 1598 in the OED, the 1590s in Etymonline;[6][2] SOED and NODE date this sense to late Middle English.[5][4]

Semantic evolution

The purpose for which something is intended is from the 1650s.[2][6] The place to which someone or something is going, short for place of destination, is from 1787 in the OED and 1813 in Etymonline.[6][2] In Scots law, a destination is the series of heirs to whom property is to pass (1754).[6] A holiday destination is a place people visit.[7]

Timeline

  • 1598 – appointing for a purpose.[6]
  • 1650s – an intended purpose.[2]
  • 1754 – in Scots law.[6]
  • 1787 – the end of a journey.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The place to which someone or something is going or being sent.
  2. A place that people visit: a popular tourist destination.
  3. (archaic) The purpose for which something is intended.

Word family

  • multidestination

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Destination.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/destination. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·