incorrect

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɪn.kəˈrekt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin incorrēctus (“uncorrected, unimproved”),^[2][3][4] from in- (“not”) and corrēctus (“corrected, amended”), the past participle of corrigō (“to put straight, reform”) (see correct).^[2][3][5] It may have come partly through French.^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Uncorrected, not chastened, of sinners: 1432–50 in the OED, the early 15th century in Etymonline, probably before 1425 in Barnhart.^[7][3][2]

Semantic evolution

A book uncorrected for the press, full of errors, is incorrect from about 1484.^[7] Not in good style is from 1672 in the OED, the 1670s in Etymonline.^[7][3] The modern sense, wrong or inaccurate, is from 1828 in the OED, though Etymonline finds it implied in incorrectly in the 1750s.^[7][3]

Timeline

• 1432–50 – uncorrected.^[7]
• c. 1484 – of a book, full of errors.^[7]
• 1672 – not in good style.^[7]
• 1828 – inaccurate, wrong.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Not correct; wrong or erroneous: an incorrect calculation.
2. Defective; faulty.
3. Not fitting or proper: incorrect behaviour.

Word family

• incorrectly
• incorrectness

Related words

• correct
• incorrigible

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press