Etymologically
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inform

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪnˈfɔːm/ (UK); /ɪnˈfoɹm/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English enfourmen, informen, borrowed from Old French enformer (“to instruct, teach”),[2][3][4] and directly borrowed from Latin infōrmāre (“to shape, give form to; to train, describe”), from in- (“into”) and fōrmāre (“to form, shape”) (see form).[3][5][6] The form enform was also used until about 1600.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To train or instruct in a subject: probably before 1325 in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

To give form or a formative character to, to inspire, is from about 1380,[7][5] and to arrange or compose a writing from about 1330.[7] To report facts or news, to tell, is from the late 14th century.[3][5] Inform against or on, to give incriminating information about someone, follows,[8][9] and informer is probably from before 1425.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1325 – to instruct.[2]
  • c. 1380 – to give form to.[7]
  • late 14th century – to tell facts.[3]
  • before 1425 – informer.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To give facts or information to; to tell.
  2. (inform on, against) To give incriminating information about someone to the authorities.
  3. To give an essential or formative quality to; to pervade.

Word family

  • informable
  • informingly
  • overinform
  • preinform
  • reinform
  • informant
  • information
  • informative

Usage notes

A rare adjective inform, formless, is from French informe or Latin informis (mid-16th century).[10][7]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press