Etymologically
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meditate

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈmɛ.dɪˌteɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin meditor (“to think over, reflect, consider”), formed on its past participle meditātus;[2][3][4][5][6] Barnhart takes it as probably a back-formation from the much older meditation, perhaps under the influence of Middle French méditer, and Etymonline and Weekley allow either explanation.[7][8][9] The OED derives the Latin verb from the base of medeor (“to heal”) with the suffix -itō;[2] the Shorter Oxford, Etymonline and Klein trace it to an Indo-European root meaning "to measure", Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to take appropriate measures”),[6][8][4][10] which is also the source of mete, mode, modest, moderate and medicine.[4][6] The OED notes that in post-classical Latin the verb often translated Ancient Greek μελετᾶν (meletân, “to study, meditate”), from which the ancient grammarians believed it was derived.[2] The OED also compares German meditieren (14th century).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To engage the mind in thought or reflection, especially religious reflection, followed by on: 1560, in the Geneva Bible's version of Psalm 1:2.[2] Barnhart and Merriam-Webster give the same year;[7][3] Etymonline dates the verb to the 1580s.[8] The noun meditation is much older, probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle.[7]

Semantic evolution

The OED notes that the senses "to reflect", "to muse over" and "to plan" all continue senses of the Latin verb.[2] The transitive sense "to ponder, consider" is recorded from about 1580, in Sidney's translation of the Psalms, and "to plan in the mind, intend" from 1582, in the Rheims version of Acts.[2][8] Johnson (1755) gave "to plan; to scheme; to contrive" as its first sense.[11] Two senses are unique to English: "to hold as an opinion" (1585–1609) and "to observe intently" (from 1700, in Dryden, now rare).[2] After Virgil's musam meditari, poets from 1620 wrote of meditating the Muse, composing or practising verse.[2] Collins records the current sense of reflecting on spiritual matters as a religious act, as in a daily practice.[12]

Timeline

  • 1560 – to reflect, especially religiously, on something.[2][7]
  • c. 1580 – to ponder or consider something.[2]
  • 1582 – to plan or design in the mind.[2]
  • 1588 – the adjective meditate, meditated (obsolete by 1854).[2]
  • 1596 – to meditate, without an object.[2]
  • 1620 – to meditate the Muse, after Virgil.[2]
  • 1700 – to observe intently (now rare).[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To focus the mind in silent contemplation, especially on spiritual matters or as a regular religious or mental practice: He meditates for twenty minutes before breakfast.[12][3][2]
  2. To think deeply or at length; to reflect, often followed by on or upon: She meditated on what he had said.[12][3][2]
  3. To ponder or muse over something.[3][2]
  4. To plan or consider doing something; to intend: meditating a reply.[12][3][2][11]

Word family

  • meditator
  • meditatingly

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  11. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins