independent

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English in- + dependent,^[2][3][4] probably influenced by Italian independente, found in Florio's dictionary (1611), and perhaps by French indépendant.^[3][5][2] The French word is attested from about 1600 and the Italian from the 1590s.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Not depending on the authority of another”: 1611,^[6][3][4] or the 1610s;^[2] in English it was first used of churches and nations.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In reference to persons it is used from the 1660s.^[2] As a noun, an Independent was a member of an English congregational church, from 1644 or the 1640s,^[4][2] and the adjective in this sense is also from 1611.^[6] One who acts according to his own will is from the 1670s.^[2] “Able to live well without working”, as in a man of independent means, is from 1732,^[2] and dialects used independent for “rich, in easy circumstances”.^[7] “Not influenced by others, unbiased” is from 1790,^[2] and a person not belonging to a political party from 1808.^[2] Independence is from 1640, partly perhaps from French indépendance.^[3]

Timeline

• 1611 – not depending on another's authority.^[6][3]
• 1640 – independence.^[3]
• 1644 – noun, a Congregationalist.^[4]
• 1660s – of persons.^[2]
• 1732 – able to live without working.^[2]
• 1790 – unbiased.^[2]
• 1808 – noun, not of a party.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Not ruled by another country; self-governing.
2. Free from the control or influence of others; self-reliant.
3. Not depending on something else; separate: two independent studies.
4. Not belonging to a political party.
5. Having enough money to live without working.
6. (grammar) Of a clause: able to stand alone as a sentence.

Noun

1. A person, especially a voter or politician, who belongs to no party.
2. Independent: A member of a 17th-century English movement for the independence of each congregation; a Congregationalist.

Word family

• independently
• pseudoindependent
• semi-independent
• quasi-independent
• nonindependent
• independency
• independent variable
• Commonwealth of Independent States

Related words

• depend
• dependence
• independence
• pendant
• pending
• dependent
• pendulum

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