episode

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈep.ɪ.səʊd/, US /ˈep.ə.soʊd/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French épisode or directly borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπεισόδιον (epeisódion, “an addition; a parenthetic narrative”),^[2][3][4] the neuter of ἐπεισόδιος (epeisódios, “coming in besides”),^[2][3] from ἐπί (epí, “in addition”) and εἴσοδος (eísodos, “a coming in, entrance”),^[2][5] itself from εἰς (eis, “into”) and ὁδός (hodós, “way, path”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In ancient Greek tragedy, the dialogue between two choric songs: 1678.^[3][6][2]

Semantic evolution

An incidental narrative or digression in a poem or story is from 1679, in Dryden.^[3][6] An incident that stands out in a person's life or in the history of a country is from 1773, in Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer.^[3][6] In music an episode is a passage between statements of a fugue subject, from 1869.^[6] Each instalment of a serial film, and later of a radio or television drama, is from 1915,^[6] in the early 20th century.^[7] Episodic is from 1711.^[3]

Timeline

• 1678 – a section of a Greek tragedy.^[3]
• 1679 – a digression in a story.^[3]
• 1711 – episodic.^[3]
• 1773 – an incident in a life.^[3]
• 1869 – a passage in music.^[6]
• 1915 – an instalment of a serial.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An event or period that stands apart from what surrounds it; an incident.
2. One part of a serial on television or radio.
3. A part of a story that is complete in itself.
4. (music) A passage between statements of the main theme.

Word family

• episodic

Related words

• exodus
• method
• period
• synod
• odometer

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press