Etymologically
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object

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: noun UK /ˈɒb.dʒɪkt/, US /ˈɑːb.dʒɪkt/; verb /əbˈdʒekt/[1]

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Old French object and directly from Medieval Latin obiectum (“thing put before the mind or sight”),[2][3][4] a noun use of the neuter of Latin obiectus “lying before, opposite”, which in classical Latin as a noun meant “charges, accusations”,[2] past participle of obicere “to present, oppose, cast in the way of”,[2][3][5] from ob “in front of, against” and iacere “to throw”,[2][3][6] from Proto-Indo-European *ye- (“to throw, impel”).[2] The verb is from Old French objecter and directly from Latin obiectāre “to set against, cite as grounds for disapproval”, a frequentative of obicere.[2][3] It is related to jet, eject and project.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An objection, a statement put in opposition: about 1380 in the OED, now obsolete.[7] A tangible thing presented to the senses: 1398 in the OED and Barnhart, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew,[7][3] the late 14th century in Etymonline.[2] The verb, to bring forward as a ground of opposition: about 1400.[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

The earliest idea was of putting something in the way of something else, hence “to oppose”; an obstacle in the path is something that can be seen, which gave the noun its sense of a visible thing.[6] An obstacle or hindrance is from about 1450,[7] about 1500 in Etymonline, and survives in no object, “not a thing that matters” (1782).[2][7] A purpose or thing aimed at is from the early 15th century in Etymonline[2] and 1597 in the OED,[7] that toward which thought or feeling is directed from about 1586,[7] and something that excites an emotion, as an object of pity, from 1588.[7] The grammatical object is from 1729.[2][3] Object lesson is from 1831.[2] The verb had many senses in the 16th century, such as to place in the way, to expose to danger, and to present to the senses, all now obsolete.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – an objection (obsolete).[7]
  • 1398 – a thing perceived by the senses.[7][3]
  • c. 1400 – verb, to raise an objection.[2][7]
  • c. 1450 – an obstacle.[7]
  • early 15th century – a purpose.[2]
  • 1588 – an object of an emotion.[7]
  • 1729 – in grammar.[2][3]
  • 1782 – no object.[2][7]
  • 1831 – object lesson.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A material thing that can be seen or touched.
  2. A person or thing toward which feeling, thought or action is directed: an object of pity.
  3. A purpose or aim.
  4. (grammar) A noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb or follows a preposition.
  5. (computing) A unit of data together with the operations that act on it.

Verb

  1. To express opposition or disapproval; to raise an objection.
  2. To state as an objection: he objected that the fee was too high.

Word family

  • objector
  • objectless
  • objectlessness
  • superobject
  • object-oriented
  • objectify
  • objectionable
  • objective

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press