Etymologically
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introduce

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˌɪn.trəˈdʒuːs/, /ˌɪn.trəˈdjuːs/, US /ˌɪn.trəˈduːs/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English introducen, borrowed from Latin intrōdūcere (“to lead in, bring in”),[2][3][4][5] possibly as a back-formation from introduction, which is from about 1395.[3][2] The Latin verb is from intrō- (“inward”) and dūcere (“to lead”),[3][2] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *deuk- (“to lead”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To bring into being, or to convey into something: probably before 1425.[3][2] The OED's first sense, to initiate or instruct a person, is from 1475, which MWU also gives.[6][5]

Semantic evolution

To bring a person into a society is from 1532.[6] To bring a subject forward or to notice is from 1559,[6][3] to bring into use or practice from 1603,[6] and to make one person known to another from 1659 in Barnhart, the 1650s in Etymonline.[3][2] To put or insert something in is from 1695.[6] To present a bill to a legislature and to bring someone to a first experience of something are later uses.[7][8]

Timeline

  • before 1425 – to bring into being.[3]
  • 1532 – to bring a person into a society.[6]
  • 1559 – to bring to notice.[6][3]
  • 1603 – to bring into use.[6]
  • 1659 – to make acquainted.[3]
  • 1695 – to insert.[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To present one person to another by name.
  2. To bring something into use or practice for the first time.
  3. To put forward for consideration, such as a bill in a legislature.
  4. To give someone a first experience of something: introduced him to jazz.
  5. To begin or preface: to introduce a talk.
  6. To put in or insert.

Word family

  • introducer
  • introducible
  • reintroduce

Usage notes

The AHD groups introduce with insert, interject, interpolate and interpose as verbs for putting someone or something among others; introduce is the most general.[7]

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 c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins