instill

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English instillen,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin īnstīllō (“to put in by drops; to drip in”),^{[3][5][4][6][7]} partly also borrowed from Middle French instiller.^[8][9] The Latin verb is formed from in- (“in, into”) and stīllō (“to drip, trickle”),^[3][6][10] from stīlla (“a drop”).^[3][5][10] It is related to distill and to still in the sense of distilling.^[5][6][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

To pour in a liquid drop by drop: probably before 1425, in a translation of Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie, where drops are instilled through the nostrils.^[2][12] The Middle English Dictionary also quotes a translation of Higden in which three drops of milk are let fall on a face.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, to put an idea, feeling or principle into the mind little by little, is recorded from 1533, earlier in the OED's record than the literal one (1547),^[13] though the literal sense goes back to Middle English medical texts.^[2][7] From 1660 it could also mean to teach or urge something persistently or stealthily, and in 1644 it meant to imbue with, a rare use since lost.^[13] Johnson (1755) gave both senses, "to infuse by drops" and "to insinuate any thing imperceptibly into the mind".^[14] Collins now calls the literal sense rare.^[15]

Timeline

• probably before 1425 – to pour in drops, in a medical text.^[2][12]
• 1533 – to introduce an idea or feeling gradually into the mind.^[13]
• 1547 – to put in by drops or in small amounts.^[13]
• 1644 – to imbue with (now obsolete).^[13]
• 1660 – to teach or urge persistently or stealthily.^[13]

Meanings

Verb

1. To put an idea, feeling or habit into someone's mind gradually; to implant or infuse: Her grandfather instilled in her a love of gardening.^[8][15][7]
2. To put a liquid in drop by drop: The nurse instilled the drops into each eye.^[8][7][15]

Word family

• instillation
• instiller
• instillment

Related words

• distill
• still
• install

Usage notes

Instill is the usual American spelling and instil the British one;^[15][8] the OED and the Shorter Oxford head the word instil.^[13][7] Dictionary.com lists instill and install as words that are easily confused.^[16]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
13. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
15. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
16. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House