Etymologically
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ownership

Etymology and origin of the English word ownership

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1583

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈəʊ.nə.ʃɪp/, US /ˈoʊ.nɚ.ʃɪp/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from owner and -ship.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fact or state of being an owner, and the legal right of possession: 1583.[4][5] Etymonline has the 1580s.[2]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed close to the first one.[4][3] Public ownership and social ownership are later compounds,[3] as is the ownership society, a political idea of personal responsibility and economic freedom popularized by the American president George W. Bush from 2003.[2]

Timeline

  • 1583 – the state of being an owner.[4]
  • 2003 – ownership society.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The state or fact of owning something.
  2. The legal right to possess something.

Word family

  • interownership
  • cross-ownership

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Ownership.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/ownership. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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