educational

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌedʒ.ʊˈkeɪ.ʃən.əl/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English education + -al.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Due to, or arising from, education”: 1652 in the OED,^[4] the 1650s in Etymonline; this sense is now obsolete.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

“Of or pertaining to education” is from 1830 in Etymonline,^[2] 1831 in the OED.^[4] In the 19th century it was still criticized: a reviewer quoted by Etymonline called it a barbarism, together with conversationism, that Worcester's dictionary tolerated.^[2] The adverb educationally is from 1845.^[4] “Serving to educate, instructive” is from 1935.^[2]

Timeline

• 1652 – arising from education.^[4]
• 1831 – of education.^[4]
• 1845 – educationally.^[4]
• 1935 – instructive.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of or relating to education.
2. Serving to educate; instructive.

Word family

• educationally
• educationalist
• educational psychology

Related words

• education
• 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press