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emergency

Etymology and origin of the English word emergency

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1631
Borrowed from
Latin emergentia
Ultimate origin
Latin (ēmergō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ɪˈmɜː.dʒən.si/, US /ɪˈmɝː.dʒən.si/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin ēmergentia,[2][3] from Latin ēmergēns, present participle of ēmergere (“to rise out or up; to bring to light”),[4][3] from ē- (“out”) and mergere (“to dip, sink”);[4] or it is formed in English from emerge and -ency.[4] It is related to emergence and merge.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

An unforeseen occurrence needing immediate action, the ordinary modern sense: before 1631 in the OED,[5] the 1630s in Etymonline and about 1631 in Merriam-Webster.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The word was interchangeable with emergence into the 19th century:[4] the rising of a submerged body above the water is from 1646,[5] and the sudden arising of an event from 1665.[5] Johnson objected in 1755 to its use for “urgency, pressing need”, found from 1716.[5] In reference to a national crisis it is from 1860, of the looming American Civil War, when militia called up for short terms were emergency men.[4] In cricket an emergency man was a substitute, from 1851.[5] The adjective, “for use in emergencies”, is from 1881.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1631 – an urgent occurrence.[5]
  • 1646 – the rising of a submerged body.[5]
  • 1716 – urgency.[5]
  • 1851 – a substitute in cricket.[5]
  • 1860 – a national crisis.[4]
  • 1881 – adjective.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A serious, unexpected situation that demands immediate action.
  2. A condition of urgent need for help: a state of emergency.
  3. (chiefly North American) A hospital department treating urgent cases.

Adjective

  1. For use in an emergency: an emergency exit.

Word family

  • nonemergency
  • postemergency
  • emergency brake
  • Emergency Medical Technician
  • emergency medicine
  • emergency room
  • emerge
  • emergence
  • emergent
  • merge
  • submerge
  • immerse

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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Emergency.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/emergency. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·