Etymologically
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operate

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈɒp.ər.eɪt/, US /ˈɑː.pər.eɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is probably a back-formation from English operation,[2][3] reinforced by Latin operātus, past participle of operārī “to work, labour”,[2][3][4] in Late Latin “to have effect, be active”,[2][3] from opus, operis “work”,[3][4] the source of opus and opera.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To be at work, to exert force or influence, to produce an effect: 1606 in the OED and Barnhart, in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, or about 1600 in Etymonline.[5][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Of medicines, to take effect, is from 1706.[5] The surgical sense, to perform an operation on a patient, is from 1799,[2][5] and of armies and fleets, to carry on operations, from 1808.[5] To deal in stocks and shares is from 1859,[5] and to work a machine is from 1864 in American English.[2] The transitive sense, to manage or run a business, was originally American, from the 19th century.[6] An operating system in computing is from 1961.[2]

Timeline

  • 1606 – to be at work, have effect.[5][3]
  • 1706 – of drugs, to take effect.[5]
  • 1799 – to perform surgery.[2][5]
  • 1808 – to carry on military operations.[5]
  • 1864 – to work a machine.[2]
  • 1961 – operating system.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To work or function, or to make a machine work.
  2. To run or manage a business or organization.
  3. To perform surgery.
  4. To have an effect or be in force.
  5. Of armed forces, to carry out military action.

Word family

  • operatable
  • coin-operated
  • reoperate
  • operating room
  • operating system

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press