evaluation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˌvæljuˈeɪʃn̩/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French évaluation,^[2][3][4] from évaluer (“to find the value of”), from é- (out) and Old French value (see value),^[2][5] from Latin valēre (“to be strong; to be worth”), from PIE Proto-Indo-European *wal- (“to be strong”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of appraising or valuing goods: 1755.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

In mathematics, finding the numerical value of an expression is from 1779.^[6] The verb evaluate was formed from it in 1842 as a back-formation.^[2] A job performance review is attested by 1947,^[3] and evaluation research, the study of how to assess programmes, from 1966.^[6] SOED notes that the monetary sense is now rare.^[5]

Timeline

• 1755 – appraising goods.^[2][6]
• 1779 – in mathematics.^[6]
• 1842 – the back-formation evaluate.^[2]
• 1947 – a job performance review.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of judging the value, quality or importance of something; assessment.
2. A judgment or report made in this way.
3. (mathematics) The finding of the numerical value of an expression.

Word family

• nonevaluation
• overevaluation
• misevaluation
• reevaluation
• self-evaluation

Related words

• evaluate
• value
• valuation
• valiant
• prevail

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press