Etymologically
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isolation

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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
  • 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