excitement

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪkˈsaɪtmənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from excite and -ment.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Encouragement: the early 15th century in Etymonline; the action of exciting, late Middle English and rare, in SOED.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Something that tends to excite, a motive or incentive, is from 1604,^[4][5] the sense in Johnson's Dictionary (1755), which quotes Shakespeare's excitements of my reason and my blood.^[6] In medicine, abnormal activity in an organ is from 1788.^[4] The condition of mental and emotional agitation, the modern sense, is from 1846.^[2][4]

Timeline

• early 15th century – encouragement.^[2]
• 1604 – an incentive.^[4]
• 1788 – abnormal activity in an organ.^[4]
• 1846 – emotional agitation.^[2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A feeling of great enthusiasm and eagerness.
2. Something that excites; an exciting event.
3. The state of being stirred up or agitated.

Word family

• hyperexcitement

Related words

• excite
• exciting
• excitable
• cite

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b 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 e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.