indifferent

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English indifferent,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French indifferent (“impartial”) or directly borrowed from Latin indifferēns (“not differing; of no consequence; neither good nor bad”),^[4][5][6][7] formed from in- (“not”) and differēns (“differing”), the present participle of differō (“to carry apart; to differ”).^[4][2][8][9] The Latin verb is a compound of dis- (“apart”) and ferō (“to carry”), and is also the source of differ, different and defer.^[9] The Anglo-Norman adjective, recorded from 1360–79, meant impartial and also of no consequence.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Impartial, not favouring one side or the other: 1380 in Barnhart, implied in indifferently,^[5] and 1413 in the OED, in The Pylgremage of the Sowle.^[6] Of things it meant alike or equal.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Ayto notes that the word first meant "not differentiating or discriminating".^[9] From impartiality the sense moved to having no inclination either way, and so to being unconcerned or apathetic, recorded from the early 15th century in Etymonline,^[4] 1519 in Barnhart^[5] and about 1520 in the OED.^[6] The sense "neither good nor bad" appeared in the 1530s, from the notion of being neither more nor less advantageous,^[4][5] and since the 17th century it has tended towards "rather bad", as in an indifferent writer (1638).^[4][5] Weekley saw the same slide: the idea of neutrality gave "fairly good" in the 17th and 18th centuries, which has since degenerated to "rather bad";^[11] Hamlet's "I am indifferent honest" shows the older adverb.^[11] The sense "impartial", as in the Prayer Book's "truly and indifferently minister justice", is now rare.^[12][11] Johnson (1755) gave "neutral; not determined to either side" first.^[13] In Scots and northern English dialect it meant tolerable, passable or fairly good.^[14]

Timeline

• 1380 – impartial, implied in indifferently.^[5]
• 1413 – of persons, impartial, unbiased.^[6]
• 1519 – unconcerned, apathetic.^[5]
• 1523 – of medium quality, moderate (obsolete by 1699).^[6]
• 1532 – neither good nor bad.^[5]
• 1638 – not particularly good, as in an indifferent writer.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having no interest in or concern about something; unconcerned: The cat seemed indifferent to the new puppy.^[15][12]
2. Neither good nor bad; mediocre, often rather poor: an indifferent singer.^[15][16]
3. Not mattering either way; immaterial.^[15][12]
4. Impartial, unbiased (now rare).^[3][12][15]
5. (biology) Of cells or tissues, not specialized or differentiated.^[15]
6. (obsolete, 1523–1699) Of medium quality or size; moderate.^[6][12]

Adverb

1. (archaic) Fairly, moderately.^[3][12]

Word family

• indifferently

Related words

• indifference
• indifferency
• indifferentism
• different
• differ
• defer

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ 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)
15. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
16. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press