instruction
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/[1]
Etymology
It is Middle English instruccioun, borrowed from Old French instruccion,[2][3] from Latin instructio (“an array, arrangement”), in Late Latin teaching,[2][3] from the past participle stem of instruere (“to arrange, prepare; inform, teach”) (see instruct),[2][4] from in-, on, and struere, to pile, build, from PIE *streu-, an extended form of Proto-Indo-European *stere- (“to spread”).[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Teaching, knowledge imparted: 1412–20 in the OED, about 1400 in Etymonline.[5][2]
Semantic evolution
An authoritative direction telling someone what to do is from the early 15th century (1433).[2][5] Directions given to a solicitor or counsel are from before 1734.[5] The Century Dictionary distinguished it from teaching as emphasizing the orderly arrangement of what is taught.[2] In computing, a coded command in a program is from 1947.[5][6]
Timeline
- 1412–20 – teaching.[5]
- 1433 – a direction, an order.[5]
- before 1734 – instructions to counsel.[5]
- 1947 – in computing.[5]
Modern meaning
Noun
- The act or profession of teaching.
- Knowledge that is taught; a lesson.
- (computing) A coded command telling a computer to carry out an operation.
- A direction or order to be obeyed.
- (instructions) Detailed directions on how to do something.
Word family
- instructional
- macroinstruction
- microinstruction
- misinstruction
- overinstruction
- preinstruction
- reinstruction
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ 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
- ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins