Etymologically
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existent

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Pronunciation

  • /ɪɡˈzɪst(ə)nt/, /ɛɡˈzɪst(ə)nt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin exsistēns (“that exists”), also spelled existēns, used as an adjective from the 4th century,[2][3][4] the present participle of exsistō (“to come forth, appear; to exist”),[2][5][4] formed from ex- (“out”) and sistō (“to stand”),[6][2] from Proto-Indo-European *stā- (“to stand”).[6] Etymonline also allows that it is a back-formation from existence.[7] The word is related to existant (about 1370), existente and esistente.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Existing, having reality: 1535, in W. Marshall's translation of Marsilius of Padua's Defence of Peace.[2] Etymonline dates it from the 1560s and Merriam-Webster from 1561.[7][3]

Semantic evolution

The word kept its philosophical sense "having being or reality", strengthened from 1610 by actually or really.[2] From 1676 it also meant "existing now, current".[2][8] As a noun it has meant "that which exists" since 1603 and "an existing person or thing" since 1635,[2][8] and in existentialism one who has existence.[3] Johnson (1755) defined it as "in being; in possession of being or of existence".[9]

Timeline

  • 1535 – existing, having reality.[2]
  • 1603 – noun, that which exists.[2]
  • 1635 – noun, an existing person or thing.[2]
  • 1676 – existing now, current.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having existence or reality; existing: No existent record mentions the treaty.[10][3][2]
  2. Existing at present; current or extant.[10][3][2]

Noun

  1. A person or thing that exists.[10][3][2]

Word family

  • unexistent
  • self-existent

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins