Etymologically
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instinct

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɪn.stɪŋkt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin īnstīnctus (“instigation, impulse”), the noun use of the past participle of īnstinguō (“to incite, impel”),[2][3][4][5] from in- (“into, upon”) and stinguō (“to prick, goad”),[3][4][6] from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to prick, pierce”) (see stick).[3] It is related to instigate.[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A prompting or impulse, a sense now obsolete: before 1420, in Lydgate's Troy Book, in Barnhart and the OED.[2][8][3]

Semantic evolution

The animal faculty of intuitive perception, from the idea of a natural prompting, is from the mid-15th century,[3] natural impulse or intuitive knowledge in Barnhart about 1454.[2] The general sense, a natural tendency, is first recorded in the 1560s,[3][8] and the instinct of animals, an innate tendency acting without reasoning, from 1596.[8] The adjective, innate, is from 1538;[2][8] instinct with, imbued with, is a recent use.[8][9]

Timeline

  • before 1420 – an impulse.[2][8]
  • c. 1454 – intuitive knowledge.[2]
  • 1538 – instinct, innate (adjective).[2]
  • 1568 – a natural tendency.[8]
  • 1596 – animal instinct.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An inborn pattern of behaviour in animals, as a fixed response to certain stimuli.
  2. A natural, unreasoned impulse or feeling: trust your instincts.
  3. A natural aptitude or knack.

Adjective

  1. (literary) Filled or imbued with: instinct with life.

Word family

  • instinctual
  • instinctually
  • instinctive
  • death instinct
  • herd instinct
  • killer instinct

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins