isolation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun of action from isolate, or from French isolation, from isoler, to isolate.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of isolating, or the condition of being isolated: 1800 in Etymonline, 1833 in the OED and Merriam-Webster.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

In chemistry, obtaining an element or compound as a separate substance is from 1854.^[6] In biology, the prevention of interbreeding between groups is from 1859.^[6] The complete separation of patients with infectious disease is from 1891,^[6] and in psychology and sociology a person's separation from normal social contact from 1890.^[6] The withdrawal of a country from international politics is a later political sense.^[7]

Timeline

• 1800 – isolation.^[2]
• 1854 – chemical isolation.^[6]
• 1859 – biological isolation.^[6]
• 1891 – isolation of patients.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of isolating, or the state of being isolated; separation or solitude.
2. (medicine) The separation of a person with an infectious disease from others.
3. The withdrawal of a country from international affairs.

Word family

• isolationism
• isolationist
• postisolation
• reisolation

Related words

• insulate
• insulation
• isolate
• isolated
• isle

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins