Etymologically
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experimentation

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:27. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɪkˌspɛɹ.ɪ.mənˈteɪ.ʃən/, /ɛkˌspɛɹ.ɪ.mənˈteɪ.ʃən/[1]
  • US: /ɪkˌspɛɹ.ə.mənˈteɪ.ʃən/, /ɪkˌspɪɹ.ə.mənˈteɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English experiment + -ation, a noun of action from the verb experiment.[2][3][4] The verb comes from the noun, which goes back through Old French esperment to Latin experīmentum (“a trial, test, proof”), from experior (“to try, test”).[3][5] The OED compares Medieval Latin experimentatio, recorded from the 13th century in British sources, Middle French expérimentation, recorded by 1530, and Spanish experimentación, recorded by 1645.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The carrying out of experiments to discover something unknown or to test a hypothesis: 1674, in William Petty's Discourse before the Royal Society.[2] The first edition of the OED dated it to 1675,[6] Etymonline to the 1670s,[3] and Dictionary.com to 1665–75.[4]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a term of the new experimental science of the late 17th century, for making experiments and for a series of them.[2][6] From 1877 it was also used more widely for trying out new ideas, methods or activities, and for a single instance of this.[2] Merriam-Webster also records it as a countable noun, an experiment.[7]

Timeline

  • 1674 – the action or process of carrying out experiments.[2]
  • 1675 – first date in the first edition of the OED.[6]
  • 1877 – the trying out of new ideas, methods or activities; an instance of this.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act or process of carrying out experiments, to test a hypothesis or discover something unknown: The new drug is still at the stage of laboratory experimentation.[8][7][2]
  2. The trying out of new ideas, methods or styles: The band's second album shows a taste for experimentation.[2]
  3. An instance of this; an experiment.[7][2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins