Etymologically
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evaluation

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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
  • 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