Etymologically
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education

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 13:32. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌedʒ.ʊˈkeɪ.ʃᵊn/, /ˌed.jʊˈkeɪ.ʃᵊn/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French éducation and directly borrowed from Latin ēducātiō (“a rearing, training”),[2][3][4] from ēducāre (“to bring up, rear”).[2][5] It is related to educate.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The bringing up of a child: 1527 according to the HTOED,[6] 1531 according to Merriam-Webster,[7] and the 1530s according to Etymonline, who adds the training of animals.[2]

Semantic evolution

At first education meant instruction in social codes and manners,[2] and between 1533 and the early 19th century also the nourishing or feeding of a child.[6][3] Systematic instruction is recorded from 1536,[6] and schooling and training for work from the 1610s.[2] William Godwin wrote in 1797 that “all education is despotism”.[2]

Timeline

  • 1527 – bringing up a child.[6]
  • 1533 – nourishing (obsolete).[6]
  • 1536 – systematic instruction.[6]
  • 1610s – schooling and training for work.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The process of teaching or learning.
  2. The knowledge or skill gained by learning.
  3. A programme of instruction of a particular kind or level: higher education.
  4. The study of teaching and learning; pedagogy.
  5. An instructive experience: quite an education.

Word family

  • educational
  • educationally
  • antieducation
  • coeducation
  • educationese
  • educationist
  • educate
  • educator

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster