guideline

Etymology

It is formed from English guide + line,^[2][3][4][5] from the noun guide and line in the sense of a cord or a mark.^[2] Dictionary.com marks it as an Americanism.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A line drawn or marked as a guide, for instance in positioning a tool or making a drawing: 1785, in a letter by Andrew Ellicott.^[2][6] Etymonline describes it as a line marked on a surface before cutting.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century the word was used for a rope trailed by a balloon to keep its height steady, from 1836 in the OED and 1846 in Etymonline.^[2][3] Merriam-Webster records other literal uses: a cord to help a walker over a difficult place or to find the way back in a cave, and in printing a line of type placed above copy to guide the copyreader and printer.^[4] The figurative sense, a rule or principle that guides policy or conduct, is recorded from 1917 in an Ohio newspaper,^[2] by 1948 according to Etymonline,^[3] and is now the main one, usually in the plural.^[7][8][4]

Timeline

• 1785 – a line marked as a guide for cutting or drawing.^[2][3][6]
• 1836 – a rope trailed by a balloon.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense from 1846.^[3]
• 1917 – a rule or principle that guides policy or procedure.^[2] Etymonline finds the figurative use by 1948.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A rule or principle that sets a standard or guides a course of action, often issued by an authority: new guidelines on food labelling.^[7][8][4][2]
2. A line drawn or marked as a guide, as in drawing, cutting or lettering.^[2][1]
3. A cord or rope that guides a person, as over a difficult part of a trail or through a cave.^[4][6]
4. A rope trailed by a balloon or small airship to help keep its height.^[2][3]

Related words

• guide
• line
• guide rope

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin