enrollment

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ənˈɹəʊl.mənt/, /ɪnˈɹəʊl.mənt/ (UK); /ənˈɹol.mənt/, /ɪnˈɹol.mənt/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English enrollement, borrowed from Middle French enrollement,^[2][3] also Anglo-French,^[4] from enroller (“to record in a register”) (see enroll) and the suffix -ment.^[4][2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of enrolling, an official copy or record of a statute: the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Random House dates it to 1525–35.^[6] The sense of the total number of people enrolled, as in a school, is from 1859, in American English.^[4] In law it is the act of recording or registering.^[7]

Timeline

• mid-15th century – enrollment.^[4]
• 1859 – the number enrolled (US).^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of enrolling, or the state of being enrolled.
2. The number of people enrolled, as in a class or school.
3. A record or register.

Word family

• preenrollment
• reenrollment
• open enrollment

Related words

• enroll
• roll
• register

Usage notes

The usual British spelling is enrolment.^[8][2]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
8. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2008), 11th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap