establishment

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ.mənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is from English establish + -ment.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A settled arrangement, and income or property: the late 15th century in Etymonline.^[2][3] The OED's first quotations, for stable condition and for a means of establishing, are from 1561.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The act of establishing is from 1596.^[4] The giving of a church the position of a national church is from 1640–41,^[4] and the established church itself from 1731.^[2] An organized body kept for a state purpose, with its staff, is from the 17th century, as in the peace establishment of an army.^[3] A place of business is from 1832.^[2] The Establishment, the people and institutions that hold power in a society, is attested occasionally from 1923 and consistently from 1955.^[2]

Timeline

• late 15th century – a settled arrangement.^[2]
• 1596 – the act of establishing.^[4]
• 1731 – the established church.^[2]
• 1832 – a place of business.^[2]
• 1955 – the ruling class.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of establishing something, or the state of being established.
2. A business, institution or organization, or the place where it is carried on.
3. (the Establishment) The people and institutions who hold power in a society, thought of as conservative.
4. The staff and equipment of an organization or military unit.

Word family

• antiestablishment
• antiestablishmentarianism
• establishmentarian
• nonestablishment
• reestablishment

Related words

• establish
• stable
• disestablishment

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c 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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press