Etymologically
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obsolete

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 03:16. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈɑbsəlit/, /ɑbsəˈlit/[1]
  • UK: /ˈɒbsəliːt/[1]
  • US: /ˈɒbsəlit/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin obsolētus (“grown old, worn out, fallen into disuse”),[2][3][4][5] the past participle of obsolēscō (“to fall into disuse, be forgotten”).[2][3][4][6] The Latin verb is probably formed from ob- (“away”) and an inchoative form of soleō (“to be accustomed, be used to”),[4][3][7][6] the verb behind insolent;[4][3][6] Hoad and Collins posit an unattested *obsoleō behind the inchoative.[7][8] The noun use compares with Latin obsolētum (“something fallen into disuse”).[2] French obsolète is from the 18th century, recorded in Middle French obsolet in 1596.[2] The Scots form obsolute arose by confusion with absolute.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

No longer used or practised, out of date: 1579, in the epistle by E. K. to Spenser's Shepheardes Calender.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The Latin sense "worn out" came into English as "worn away, effaced, dilapidated" in 1611, in Coryate's Crudities, and later, in medicine and biology, "persisting but no longer functioning".[2] Naturalists used it from 1732 for markings that are indistinct and for organs that are imperfectly developed or vestigial.[2][7] Johnson (1755) defined it as "worn out of use; disused; unfashionable", quoting Dryden's remark that obsolete words may be revived when they are more sounding or more significant than those in use.[9] A noun, an obsolete thing or person, is recorded from 1641,[2][6] and a verb, to make obsolete, from 1640, in Pym;[2][4] the verb is now chiefly North American, used of products superseded by newer ones.[10][6] The related obsolescent dates from the 18th century.[7]

Timeline

  • 1579 – no longer in use, out of date.[2][4]
  • 1611 – worn away, worn out.[2]
  • 1640 – verb, to make obsolete.[2][4][6]
  • 1641 – noun, something obsolete.[2][6]
  • 1732 – biology, indistinct; imperfectly developed.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. No longer used or practised: an obsolete spelling.[8][6][2]
  2. Out of date; of a kind no longer current: Their software was obsolete within three years.[8][6]
  3. (biology) Imperfectly developed or no longer functional; vestigial or rudimentary.[8][2]
  4. (of a postage stamp) No longer issued, though possibly still valid.[6]

Verb

  1. To make obsolete, especially by replacing with something newer.[6][2][10]

Noun

  1. (rare) Something obsolete, such as a word.[6][2]

Word family

  • obsoletely
  • obsoleteness
  • obsoletism
  • nonobsolete
  • subobsolete
  • unobsolete
  • obsolesce
  • obsolescence
  • obsolescent
  • insolent

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press