inventory

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɪn.vən.tɹi/, /ɪnˈvɛn.tə.ɹi/ (UK); /ˈɪn.vənˌtɔɹ.i/, /ˈɪn.vənˌtɹi/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It was first inventari (1415), borrowed from Middle French inventaire, from Late Latin inventarium (“list of what is found”);^[2][3] the spelling with -ory, from before 1425, is from Medieval Latin inventorium, a variant influenced by words in -orium.^[2][3][4] It comes from Latin inventus, past participle of invenīre (“to find, come upon”) (see invent).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A detailed list of goods: 1415 in Barnhart, early 15th century in Etymonline.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

A list or detailed account in general is from 1589.^[5] The stock of goods itself is from 1691,^[5] and chiefly in American accounting the value of a firm's stock of goods.^[6] The verb, to make a list, is from 1526 in the OED^[5] but 1601, in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, in Barnhart.^[2]

Timeline

• 1415 – inventari, a detailed list.^[2]
• 1526 – the verb.^[5]
• 1589 – any detailed account.^[5]
• 1691 – a stock of goods.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A detailed list of things one has, especially of goods in stock.
2. The making of such a list.
3. The goods on hand; stock.
4. A survey of abilities or resources.

Verb

1. To make a detailed list of.

Word family

• inventorial
• inventorially
• inventoriable
• personality inventory

Related words

• invent
• inventive
• invention
• inventor
• reinvent
• venue
• advent

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins