Etymologically
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guidance

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɡaɪ.dəns/[1]

Etymology

It is a hybrid formed from English guide + -ance,[2][3][4] the suffix being of Latin origin;[4] it replaced the 15th-century guying.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The process of directing conduct: the 1530s in Etymonline, 1538 in the OED.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Guidance on a journey or movement is from 1590,[5] and something that guides from 1712.[5] Direction or counselling in education, careers or marriage is from 1927,[2][5] as in the guidance counsellor of American schools.[6] In astronautics, the control of the course of a rocket or missile, by built-in equipment or from the ground, is from 1962 in the OED.[5][7]

Timeline

  • 1538 – direction of conduct.[5]
  • 1590 – guidance on a journey.[5]
  • 1712 – something that guides.[5]
  • 1927 – educational or career counselling.[2][5]
  • 1962 – missile guidance.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Advice or direction given to help someone.
  2. Counselling about education, careers or personal problems.
  3. The control of the course of a missile or spacecraft.
  4. The act of guiding; leadership.

Word family

  • misguidance
  • preguidance
  • command guidance
  • inertial guidance

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin