investigation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnˌves.tɪˈɡeɪ.ʃᵊn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English investigacioun,^[2] borrowed from Old French investigacion,^[3][2] and directly from Latin investīgātiō (“a searching into”),^[3][4] from investīgāre (“to trace out, search after”),^[3] from in- (“in, into”) and vestīgāre (“to track, trace”),^[3] from vestīgium (“footprint, track”).^[3][5] See investigate and vestige.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of investigating, a search or inquiry: 1436 in the OED^[6] and the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

An individual inquiry, with an and a plural, is from 1795.^[6] The literal sense, the tracking of an animal, is rare, recorded in 1822.^[6]

Timeline

• 1436 – a searching into.^[6]
• 1795 – an inquiry.^[6]
• 1822 – tracking an animal (rare).^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of investigating; careful examination.
2. A detailed inquiry, as by the police, or a systematic study.

Word family

• investigational
• preinvestigation
• reinvestigation

Related words

• investigate
• investigator
• vestige
• vestigial

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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press