membership

Etymology

It is formed from English member + -ship.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state or status of being a member of a society or body: 1643 in MWU and the Historical Thesaurus, 1647 in the OED, the 1640s in Etymonline.^[3][4][5][1]

Semantic evolution

The number of members of a body is from 1850,^[5][1] and the members of a society collectively is from 1926 in the OED, 1844 in the Historical Thesaurus.^[5][4]

Timeline

• 1643 – the state of being a member.^[3]
• 1850 – the number of members.^[5][1]
• 1926 – the members collectively.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The state of being a member of a group or organization.
2. All the members of a group, or their number.
3. (mathematics) The relation of an element to the set it belongs to.

Related words

• member

References

1. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press