doctrine

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈdɒk.trɪn/, US /ˈdɑːk.trɪn/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French doctrine (“teaching, doctrine”) (12th century),^[2][3][4] a learned borrowing of Latin doctrīna, teaching, learning,^[2][3] from doctor, teacher (see doctor), from docēre, to teach.^[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Teaching or instruction: 1382 in the OED,^[6] about 1380 in Chaucer's Boethius.^[2]

Semantic evolution

That which is taught as true by a master, a set of principles or dogmas, is from about 1384 in the Wycliffe Bible,^[2][6] and a body or system of principles from 1594.^[6] In Middle English it could mean learning or education in general.^[3] The Monroe doctrine in US policy goes back to President Monroe's message to Congress of 2 December 1823, the phrase attested by 1848.^[3][6] In law, a doctrine is a principle established through past decisions.^[7] Doctrinal is from the 15th century,^[4] and doctrinaire from 1820, first a member of a French political party.^[2]

Timeline

• 1382 – teaching.^[6]
• c. 1384 – principles, dogma.^[2]
• 1594 – a system of principles.^[6]
• 1820 – doctrinaire.^[2]
• 1848 – Monroe doctrine.^[3][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A principle or set of principles taught or held to be true by a religious, political or philosophical group; dogma.
2. A statement of government policy: the Monroe doctrine.
3. (law) A rule or principle established through past decisions.

Word family

• undoctrined
• fairness doctrine
• Monroe Doctrine

Related words

• docent
• docile
• doctor
• doctorate
• doctrinaire
• doctrinal
• document
• indoctrinate

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon 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. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin