Etymologically
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membership

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 01:26. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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.

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