Etymologically
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independence

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 23:08. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dəns/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from independent with -ence,[2][3] on the pattern of pairs such as competent and competence,[3] and partly after French indépendance.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The condition of not depending on others, self-support and self-government: 1640 in the OED and Merriam-Webster,[5][3] the 1630s in Etymonline.[2] Independency had the same sense earlier, from the 1610s.[2]

Semantic evolution

A competency, an income sufficient to live on without working, is from 1815.[5] The American Independence Day, July 4, commemorating the Declaration of 1776, is so named by 1791.[2][5] Old English had selfdom for the idea.[2] In Scotland the Independence set were the Independents, or Congregationalists.[6]

Timeline

  • 1610s – independency.[2]
  • 1640 – independence.[5][3]
  • 1791 – Independence Day.[2][5]
  • 1815 – a competency.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The state or quality of being independent, especially of a country's self-government.
  2. Freedom from the control or support of others.
  3. (archaic) An income sufficient to live on; a competence.

Word family

  • independency
  • linear independence

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 f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)