Etymology and origin of the English word newsroom
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Compound
- First attested
- 1792 Country Spectator
- Ultimate origins
- English newsOld English rum
From the same root
Pronunciation
- /ˈnjuːzɹuːm/[1]
Etymology
It is formed from English news + room.[2][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
A reading room set apart for newspapers: 1792, in the Country Spectator.[3][4] Etymonline dates the word to 1817,[2] and Dictionary.com to 1810–20.[5]
Semantic evolution
The first newsrooms were rooms where newspapers and magazines were kept for reading, a sense the OED now marks obsolete;[3][2] Merriam-Webster also records a room where newspapers and periodicals were sold.[4] By 1925 the word meant the office of a newspaper where the news is produced,[2] and it was extended to the offices of news agencies and of radio and television stations.[3][4][6]
Timeline
- 1792 – a reading room for newspapers.[3][4] Etymonline dates it to 1817.[2]
- 1925 – the office of a newspaper where news is prepared.[2]
Meanings
Noun
- An office in a newspaper, news agency or radio or television station where news is gathered, written and prepared for publication or broadcasting.[6][4][3]
- A reading room for newspapers and periodicals; also, a room where they are sold.[4][3]
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
- ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry
“Newsroom.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/newsroom. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.
Last edited on . ·