moderation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English moderacioun, also moderation,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman moderacion and Middle French moderacion,^[4][3][5] and directly borrowed from Latin moderātiō (“self-control, restraint; control, governance”),^[4][3][6] a noun of action from moderātus, the past participle of moderor (“to regulate, restrain, keep within measure”), with the suffix -iō (see -ion).^[4][3][6] The OED dates the Middle French word to 1327 in the sense of diminishing something and to about 1355 for self-control.^[4] Klein derives the Latin verb from modus (“measure”),^[5] and Etymonline traces it to Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to take appropriate measures”).^[3] The verb and adjective moderate come from the same Latin participle.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The quality of being moderate in harshness or intensity, mildness or clemency: before 1425, in MS Hunterian 95, as the OED quotes it from the Middle English Dictionary.^[4] The MED's first sense is the quality of being moderate or temperate, also of medicines and bodily humours that are of the right intensity.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The phrase in moderation, not to excess, is recorded from 1483.^[4] From 1429 to 1700 the word also meant a limit or restricting proviso,^[4][7] and after about 1500 also the act of making something less severe;^[4] Etymonline dates the sense "act of moderating or restraining" to the 1520s.^[3] For a time it also meant control or government (1526–1726).^[4] Johnson (1755) defined it first as "forbearance of extremity".^[8] In Scotland it was a church term: from 1582 for presiding over a congregation's call to a minister,^[4] and between 1753 and 1831 for the views of the Moderate party in the Church of Scotland.^[4] At Oxford, Moderations (from 1850) is the first public examination for the BA.^[4] Later senses follow moderator: impartial mediation and the chairing of meetings from 1891,^[4] the checking of examination marks against a standard from 1963,^[4] and the monitoring of an online forum to keep its users and content within the rules, first recorded on Usenet in 1986.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1425 – mildness, temperateness.^[4][2]
• 1429 – a limit or restriction (obsolete by 1700).^[4]
• 1483 – in moderation.^[4]
• before 1500 – the lessening of severity.^[4]
• 1526 – control, governance (obsolete by 1726).^[4]
• 1582 – in the Scottish church, presiding over the call to a minister.^[4]
• 1850 – Moderations, an Oxford examination.^[4]
• 1891 – mediation; presiding over a meeting.^[4]
• 1963 – the checking of examination marks.^[4]
• 1986 – the monitoring of an online forum.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The avoidance of extremes in behaviour or opinion; temperance, restraint: He urged moderation on both parties.^[9][6][4]
2. The act of moderating; a lessening of severity or intensity: a moderation of the drought.^[9][6][4]
3. in moderation: within reasonable limits; not to excess: Coffee is harmless in moderation.^[9][4]
4. The action of presiding over a meeting or debate as a moderator.^[4]
5. The monitoring of an online forum or platform so that posts keep to its rules.^[4]
6. (education) The checking of examination marks against a common standard.^[4]
7. Moderations: the first public examination for the BA at Oxford.^[4]

Word family

• immoderation

Related words

• moderate
• moderator
• modest
• mode

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins