Etymologically
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partial

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpɑːʃəl/ (UK); /ˈpɑɹʃəl/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English parcial, borrowed from Old French parcial and directly borrowed from Medieval Latin partialis (“divisible; partial”),[2][3][4] from Late Latin partialis, incomplete, from Latin pars (“part”) (genitive partis) (see part),[3][4][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *pere- (“to grant, allot”).[3] Modern French distinguishes partial, biased, from partiel, incomplete.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not whole, incomplete: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew;[2] the late 14th century in Etymonline.[3]

Semantic evolution

One-sided, biased, inclined to favour one side, is from the early 15th century (about 1420).[3][7] The weakened favourably disposed, and partial to, fond of, follow: Etymonline dates the weakened sense from the 1580s,[3] and the OED dates the construction with to, meaning fond of, from 1696.[7] Affecting a part only, not universal, is by the 1640s (1641).[3][7] As a noun in music and acoustics, a partial tone, it is a later technical use.[8][9]

Timeline

  • before 1398 – incomplete.[2]
  • c. 1420 – biased.[7]
  • 1580s – favourably disposed.[3]
  • 1641 – affecting a part only.[7]
  • 1696 – partial to, fond of.[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Not complete; existing only in part: a partial eclipse.
  2. Favouring one side unfairly; biased.
  3. (partial to) Having a liking for: partial to chocolate.

Noun

  1. (music) Any of the component tones of a sound; an overtone.

Word family

  • partialness
  • partially
  • nonpartial
  • overpartial
  • partialize
  • impartial
  • partiality
  • partial differential equation

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins