exploration

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɛkspləˈɹeɪʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French exploration and directly borrowed from Latin exploratio (“an examination”),^[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of explōrāre (“to investigate, search out”) (see explore).^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Examination, investigation: 1537 in MWU, 1543–44 in the OED, the 1540s in Etymonline.^[5][6][2]

Semantic evolution

The current sense, travelling through an unknown country or place to discover it, dates from the early 19th century (1823).^[4][6] In medicine, examination of a wound or organ is from 1860.^[6] The search for oil or minerals, as in exploration well, is a 20th-century use.^[6]

Timeline

• 1537 – investigation.^[5]
• 1823 – exploring a country.^[6]
• 1860 – in medicine.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of travelling through an unknown area to learn about it.
2. Thorough examination of a subject or idea.
3. The search for oil, gas or minerals.
4. (medicine) The examination of an organ or wound.

Word family

• exploratory
• explorational
• explorationist
• reexploration

Related words

• explorative
• explorer
• explore

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press