Etymologically
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instrument

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɪnstɹəmənt/, /ˈɪnstɹʊmənt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French instrument (“means, device; musical instrument”) and directly borrowed from Latin instrumentum (“tool, apparatus, furniture, dress, document”),[2][3][4] from instruere (“to arrange, equip”) (see instruct),[2][3] from in- (“on”) and struere (“to pile, build”), from PIE Proto-Indo-European *stere- (“to spread”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A musical instrument: about 1290 in the OED, the late 13th century in Etymonline,[5][3] about 1300 in Barnhart.[2]

Semantic evolution

A tool or device is from the early 14th century, probably before 1325 in Barnhart,[3][2] and a means or agency, including a person used by another, from the mid-14th century.[3][5] The OED notes that an instrument is now usually distinguished from a tool as used for delicate, scientific or artistic work.[3] A legal document is from the early 15th century, 1483 in the OED.[3][5] A bodily organ was formerly an instrument, as in Chaucer's Wife of Bath.[3][5] A measuring or control device in a vehicle or aircraft follows.[6][7] Instrumental is from before 1398, and of music for instruments from 1509.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1290 – a musical instrument.[5]
  • before 1325 – a tool.[2]
  • 1340 – a means or agent.[5]
  • early 15th century – a legal document.[3]
  • 1509 – instrumental music.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A device for producing musical sounds.
  2. A tool or implement, especially for precise work: surgical instruments.
  3. A device for measuring or controlling, as on a dashboard.
  4. A means by which something is done; a person used by another as a tool.
  5. (law) A formal legal document, such as a deed or contract.

Verb

  1. To equip with instruments; to orchestrate music.

Word family

  • instrumentation
  • instrument panel
  • reed instrument
  • transit instrument
  • brass instrument
  • instrument flying
  • flight instrument
  • percussion instrument

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 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