homogeneous
Pronunciation
Etymology
It is borrowed from Medieval Latin homogeneus,[2][3][4][5][6] with the English suffix -ous,[7][2] from Ancient Greek ὁμογενής (homogenḗs, “of the same kind or race”),[8][9][2] formed from ὁμός (homós, “same”) and γένος (génos, “kind, race, stock”).[8][9][3] It is the opposite of heterogeneous.[3][8] It gradually replaced the earlier homogeneal (1603), formed from homogene (1607), which was perhaps borrowed through Middle French homogène.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Of the same kind or nature; alike: in Milton's The Reason of Church-Government, dated 1641 by Barnhart and Merriam-Webster[2][10] and 1642 by the OED.[7]
Semantic evolution
The sense "made up of parts all of the same kind, uniform throughout" followed in 1646, in Sir Thomas Browne;[7][3] Johnson (1755) still gave homogeneal and homogeneous together, for things of the same nature.[11] Scientific uses grew from it: in mathematics, of quantities of the same kind (1695) and of terms of the same degree (1815);[7] in physics, of light of one colour (1783);[7] in chemistry, of a system of a single phase (1874);[7] and in nuclear physics, of a reactor whose fuel is mixed evenly with the moderator (1947).[7] The verb homogenize, to make similar, is recorded from 1886, and its sense of making milk uniform from 1904.[2]
Timeline
- 1641 – of the same kind or nature, in Milton.[2][10] The OED dates the same text to 1642.[7]
- 1646 – uniform throughout, in Sir Thomas Browne.[7]
- 1695 – in mathematics, of the same kind.[7]
- 1783 – of light, of a single colour.[7]
- 1815 – in mathematics, of the same degree.[7]
- 1874 – in chemistry, of a single phase.[7]
Meanings
Adjective
- Made up of parts or elements of the same kind; uniform in structure or composition throughout: a homogeneous mixture of sand and cement.[12][10][7]
- Of the same kind or nature; similar: The club's members formed a homogeneous group.[12][10][7]
- Having the same property, such as density, at every point.[12]
- In mathematics, made up of terms of the same degree.[12][7]
- In chemistry, consisting of a single phase.[10][7]
Word family
- homogeneously
- homogeneousness
- nonhomogeneous
- unhomogeneous
Related words
Usage notes
The spelling homogenous and the pronunciation /həˈmɒdʒɪnəs/ are also in use; the OED suggests that the pronunciation spread partly under the influence of homogenize.[7]
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
- ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
- ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
- ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins