installation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɪn.stəˈleɪ.ʃən/ (UK); /ˌɪn.stəˈleɪ.ʃən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin installatio, from the past participle stem of installāre (“to install”) (see install),^[2][3][4] partly through French.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The installing of someone in a church office or other position: the mid-15th century in Etymonline, late Middle English in SOED, 1606 in the OED.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The setting up of machinery or apparatus for use is from 1882.^[2][5] The apparatus itself, and a military or industrial establishment, followed.^[6][7] In art, a large work created for a particular space is from 1969.^[5]

Timeline

• mid-15th century – installing in office.^[2]
• 1606 – the action of installing.^[5]
• 1882 – setting up machinery.^[2][5]
• 1969 – an art installation.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of installing equipment or software, or the equipment itself.
2. A military or industrial establishment: a nuclear installation.
3. The formal placing of someone in an office.
4. A large artwork made for a particular space.

Word family

• preinstallation
• reinstallation

Related words

• install
• instalment
• stall

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
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. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins