invitation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪnvɪˈteɪʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French invitation or directly Latin invitatio (“an invitation, incitement”),^[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of invītāre (“to invite, entertain”) (see invite),^[4][5] from in-, toward, and an obscure second element, which Watkins traces to PIE Proto-Indo-European *weie- (“to go after, pursue”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of inviting: mid-15th century in Etymonline;^[4] 1611 in the OED.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The presenting of attractions or inducements is from 1598,^[6] and the spoken or written form in which a person is invited from 1615.^[6][4] An entertainment to which one is invited is a rare obsolete sense of 1682.^[6] Attributive use, as in invitation card, is from 1808.^[6][2] In bridge, a bid inviting the partner to bid further is from 1928.^[6]

Timeline

• mid-15th century – act of inviting.^[4]
• 1598 – inducement.^[6]
• 1615 – the written form.^[6]
• 1808 – attributive use.^[6]
• 1928 – in bridge.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of inviting.
2. A spoken or written request for someone to come or take part.
3. An enticement or attraction.

Word family

• invitational
• reinvitation

Related words

• invite
• inviting

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press