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nonsensical

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Etymology and origin of the English word nonsensical

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1645 J. Raicraft, Looking Glass for Anabaptists More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origins
English non-Old French sensFrench -iqueAnglo-Norman -al
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English sense
English nonsense
English nonsensical
From the same root
English senseless ← sense
English sensuous ← sense

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌnɒnˈsentsɪk(ə)l/, /ˌnɒnˈsensɪk(ə)l/[1]
  • US: /ˌnɑːnˈsentsɪk(ə)l/, /ˌnɑːnˈsensɪk(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English nonsense + -ical.[2][3][4][5] Nonsense, from the 1610s, is formed from non- and sense, perhaps influenced by French nonsens;[3][2] the OED compares non-sens, attested in Old French from about 1210 for irrationality or foolishness.[2] The OED also compares the later sensical.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Making no sense; absurd: 1645, in J. Raicraft's Looking Glass for Anabaptists.[2][6] Etymonline dates it to the 1650s.[3]

Semantic evolution

By about 1661 it was used of people, for foolish or silly.[2][6] Johnson (1755) defined it as "unmeaning; foolish", quoting Ray on the Creation.[7] A rare noun, a nonsensical or trifling thing, is recorded from 1842 to 1856.[2][4] The adverb nonsensically is recorded from the mid 17th century and nonsensicalness from the late 17th.[4]

Timeline

  • 1645 – making no sense; absurd.[2][6]
  • c. 1661 – of a person, foolish, silly.[2][6]
  • 1842 – noun, a nonsensical or trifling thing (obsolete by 1856).[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having no meaning or making no sense; absurd or foolish: The instructions were so badly translated that they were nonsensical.[8][2][4]
  2. Showing or marked by foolish speech, thinking or behaviour.[8][2]
  3. Made of meaningless sounds, as nonsense syllables used in tests.[8]

Word family

  • nonsensicality
  • nonsensically

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Nonsensical.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/nonsensical. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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