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devaluation

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Etymology and origin of the English word devaluation

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1914 English Historical Review More words from the 20th century
Ultimate origins
English devaluateAnglo-Norman -ion

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌdiːvæljuˈeɪʃ(ə)n/, /dɪˌvæljuˈeɪʃ(ə)n/[1]
  • US: /ˌdiːvæljuˈeɪʃ(ə)n/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English devaluate + -ion,[2][3] or, as the OED puts it, from devaluate or devalue with -ation;[4][5] Etymonline analyses it as de- and valuation.[6] The verb devaluate is recorded from 1898, while Etymonline takes devalue (1918) as a back-formation from devaluation.[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The process of devaluing, and especially the reduction of the official value of a currency in terms of gold or another currency: 1914, in the English Historical Review.[4][2] Etymonline gives the general sense, the process or fact of being reduced in value, from 1898, and the currency sense from 1914;[6] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1910–15.[3]

Semantic evolution

The currency sense is the main one from the first record,[4][6] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged defines it as an official lowering of a currency's gold equivalent.[2] The figurative sense, a lessening of status, importance or esteem, is listed beside it,[2][7] and the Shorter Oxford records devaluationist, a supporter of the devaluation of a currency, from the mid 20th century.[5]

Timeline

  • 1914 – the reduction of the official value of a currency.[4][2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An official reduction in the exchange value of a currency against gold or other currencies, made by a government: the devaluation of the peso.[7][2][4]
  2. A reduction in value, status or importance.[7][2][5]

Word family

  • postdevaluation
  • predevaluation

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Devaluation.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/devaluation. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·