opportunity

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌɒp.əˈtʃuː.nə.ti/, /ˌɒp.əˈtjuː.nə.ti/, US /ˌɑː.pɚˈtuː.nə.t̬i/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English opportunite,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French opportunite,^[3][4] and directly borrowed from Latin opportūnitās (“fitness, convenience, favorable time”),^[3][2] from opportūnus (“fit, convenient, favorable”),^[3][4] the source of opportune, from the phrase ob portum veniens “coming toward a harbor”, said of the wind,^[3] from ob “toward” and portus “harbor”, the source of port.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fitness, aptitude: about 1374, a sense now obsolete;^[5] a time or condition favorable for a purpose, “fit, convenient or seasonable time”, is from 1375,^[5] the late 14th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The quality of being opportune, timeliness, is from 1531,^[5] and an advantageous site or position from 1555.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as “fit place; time; convenience; suitableness of circumstances to any end”.^[6] Equality of opportunity is from 1891.^[5] Opportunity cost in economics is attested from 1911,^[3][5] and the saying opportunity knocks but once from 1898.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1374 – fitness, aptitude.^[5]
• 1375 – a favorable time or condition.^[5]
• 1531 – timeliness.^[5]
• 1891 – equality of opportunity.^[5]
• 1898 – opportunity knocks but once.^[3]
• 1911 – opportunity cost.^[3][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A favorable time or set of circumstances for doing something; a chance.
2. A chance for progress or advancement, as in a job.

Word family

• land of opportunity
• equal opportunity
• opportunity cost
• photo opportunity

Related words

• opportune
• opportunism
• opportunist
• opportunistic
• importune
• port
• portal

Usage notes

Opportunity is a favorable state of affairs or suitable time;^[7] an occasion is a time suited to a particular purpose, an opening an opportunity that offers a good chance of success, and a break a stroke of luck.^[7] In northern English slang of Grose's time, of strange opportunity meant “whimsical”.^[8]

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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)