Etymologically
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excitement

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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
  • 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.