Etymologically
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interaction

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:39. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/ (UK); /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.ʃən/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from inter- and action,[2] or from the verb interact and -ion.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mutual or reciprocal action, the influence of things on each other: 1807 in Etymonline,[2] 1832 in the OED,[4] the mid-19th century in SOED.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word spread from the general sense to persons acting on one another,[4][3] and the adjective interactional followed in 1886.[4] In physics, an interaction is one of the fundamental ways in which particles and fields affect one another, such as the strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravitational interactions, a sense from the mid-20th century.[3][5][6]

Timeline

  • 1807 – reciprocal action.[2]
  • 1886 – interactional.[4]
  • mid-20th century – in physics, a fundamental interaction.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Mutual or reciprocal action or influence between people or things.
  2. (physics) Any of the fundamental ways in which particles and fields act on one another.

Word family

  • interactional
  • interactionism
  • gravitational interaction
  • strong interaction
  • weak interaction

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d 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