Etymologically
Log in

inventory

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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
  • 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