Etymologically
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emergence

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 22:03. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɪˈmɜː.d͡ʒ(ə)ns/, /iˈmɜː.d͡ʒ(ə)ns/[1]
  • US: /ɪˈmɝ.d͡ʒ(ə)ns/, /iˈmɝ.d͡ʒ(ə)ns/[1]

Etymology

According to the Oxford dictionaries it is borrowed from Medieval Latin ēmergentia,[2][3][4] which Klein and the OED call Late Latin;[5][4] Etymonline and Dictionary.com bring it through émergence.[6][7] The Latin noun is formed on ēmergēns, the present participle of ēmergō (“to rise up, bring to light”),[2][5][3] the source of emerge, with the noun suffix that gives -ence.[2] Merriam-Webster treats the modern word as emerge plus -ence,[8] and Etymonline suggests that the surviving sense may come directly from the verb.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

An unforeseen occurrence that needs immediate attention, the sense now carried by emergency: Etymonline dates it to the 1640s, the Shorter Oxford to the mid 17th century,[6][2][3] and the OED's first quotation is from Guthry's Memoirs (before 1676).[4]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, an emergency, was obsolete by the 19th century;[2][6] Johnson called the related use for pressing need "a sense not proper".[4] The sense that survives, the process of coming forth from concealment, obscurity or confinement, appears first in astronomy and optics, in Newton (before 1727),[4][6] and in general use by 1755.[4][6] Merriam-Webster dates the general sense 1704.[8] In geology the word has been used since 1833, in Lyell, for land rising out of the water,[4][6] and botanists adopted it in 1882, from Sachs, for an outgrowth on a leaf or stem.[4][2] Merriam-Webster also records it for recovery of consciousness, as after anaesthesia, and for the appearance of new properties in evolution.[8]

Timeline

  • 1640s – an unforeseen occurrence, an emergency.[6]
  • a1676 – the OED's first quotation, in that sense.[4]
  • 1704 – the process of emerging, as Merriam-Webster dates it.[8]
  • a1727 – (astronomy and optics) in Newton.[4]
  • 1755 – coming forth from concealment or obscurity, in general use.[4][6]
  • 1781 – pressing need (obsolete).[4]
  • 1833 – the rising of land out of water.[4][6]
  • 1882 – (botany) an outgrowth from a leaf or stem.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The process of coming into view or out of hiding, or of becoming known or important: the emergence of a new political party.
  2. The act of rising out of water or another fluid.
  3. Recovery of consciousness, as after anaesthesia.
  4. (botany) An outgrowth, such as a prickle, formed from tissue beneath the epidermis.
  5. (obsolete) An unforeseen occurrence; an emergency.

Word family

  • postemergence
  • preemergence
  • reemergence

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster