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medieval

Etymology and origin of the English word medieval

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1825
Ultimate origin
Latin (aevum)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌmɛd.iˈiː.vəl/, /ˌmiː.diˈiː.vəl/ (UK); /mɪdˈi.vəl/, /ˌmɛˈdi.vəl/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is an English coinage, first spelled mediaeval, from Latin medium, middle, and aevum, age, with the suffix -al,[2][3][4] after New Latin medium aevum, the Middle Ages,[5][6][7] a learned phrase developed from the much earlier English the Middle Ages (early 17th century).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or belonging to the Middle Ages: 1825 in Etymonline, 1827 in Barnhart.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart describes the Middle Ages as the period between classical Greece and Rome and the European Enlightenment, a subjective term reflecting the point of view of 19th-century Europe.[3] The informal sense, old-fashioned or primitive, is later.[8][9] Merriam-Webster gives 1856 as the first known use of the noun.[5]

Timeline

  • early 17th century – the Middle Ages.[7]
  • 1825 – mediaeval.[2]
  • 1827 – in Barnhart.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to or in the style of the Middle Ages.
  2. (informal) Old-fashioned, primitive or unenlightened.

Word family

  • medievally
  • antimedieval
  • postmedieval
  • premedieval
  • pseudomedieval
  • unmedieval
  • medievalism
  • medievalist

Usage notes

The spelling mediaeval is now chiefly British.[9][10]

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 c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Medieval.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/medieval. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·