Etymologically
Log in

educate

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 15:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈedʒ.ʊ.keɪt/, /ˈed.jʊ.keɪt/, US /ˈedʒ.ʊ.keɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English educaten, borrowed from Latin ēducātus, the past participle of ēducō (“to bring up, rear, educate”),[2][3][4][5] related to the verb behind educe, formed from ex- (“out”) and dūcō (“to lead”),[2][3][5][6] from Proto-Indo-European *deuk- (“to lead”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To bring up children, to train: 1447 in Barnhart, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The specific sense to instruct, to provide schooling, is first recorded in 1588, in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost.[2][7][3] The OED also has rearing children or animals by feeding and care (1607) and bringing up the young so as to form their habits (1618).[7] Training the intellect and moral powers in general is from 1849,[7] and training animals from 1850.[7] Education is from 1531, in Elyot, for the rearing of children.[2] Educationist is from the 19th century and earlier than educationalist.[4]

Timeline

  • 1447 – to bring up, train.[2]
  • 1531 – education.[2]
  • 1588 – to provide schooling.[2][7]
  • 1607 – to rear children.[7]
  • 1849 – to train the mind.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To give knowledge or training to, especially by schooling; to teach.
  2. To provide schooling for children.
  3. To train for a particular purpose or occupation.
  4. To inform; to bring to an understanding of something.
  5. To improve or develop a person's taste or judgment.

Word family

  • educatee
  • education
  • educative
  • educatory
  • miseducate
  • overeducate
  • reeducate
  • undereducate

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 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. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ 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