instrumental

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌɪn.strəˈmen.təl/, US /ˌɪn.strəˈmen.t̬əl/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French instrumental, from Medieval Latin *īnstrūmentālis,^[2][3] from Latin īnstrūmentum, tool, apparatus (see instrument).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Serving as an instrument or a means to an end: 1398 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Of music, performed on or written for instruments, is from 1509.^[4] Serviceable or useful is from about 1600,^[2] 1602 in the OED, and instrumental in, playing an important part in bringing something about, from 1650.^[4] Performed with a material instrument or tool is from 1644.^[4] The noun, a piece of music for instruments only, is attested by 1940,^[2] and in grammar the instrumental case expresses the means by which something is done.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1398 – serving as a means.^[4]
• 1509 – of instrumental music.^[4]
• 1602 – useful, effective.^[4]
• 1650 – instrumental in.^[4]
• 1940 – an instrumental (noun).^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Serving as a means; playing an important part: instrumental in the reform.
2. Performed on or written for musical instruments.
3. Of or done with an instrument or tool.
4. (grammar) Of a case showing the means by which something is done.

Noun

1. A piece of music for instruments only, without singing.

Word family

• instrumentally
• instrumentalism
• uninstrumental
• instrumentality
• instrumentalist

Related words

• instrument
• instruct
• construct
• structure

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ 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
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins