Etymologically
Log in

photo

Etymology and origin of the English word photo

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1860, Queen Victoria's letters

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈfəʊ.təʊ/, US /ˈfoʊ.t̬oʊ/[1]

Etymology

It is a colloquial clipping of photograph.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

1860, in Queen Victoria's letters.[3][2][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb, “to photograph”, is from 1868, in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's letters,[3][5] or by 1865.[2] A photo finish, a race so close that only a photograph taken at the line can decide it, is from 1936.[2] The photo opportunity, a chance arranged to photograph a notable person or event, is from 1974 and said to be a coinage of the Nixon administration,[2] and photo op is from 1982.[5]

Timeline

  • 1860 – a photograph.[3][5]
  • 1868 – verb, to photograph.[3][5]
  • 1936 – photo finish.[2]
  • 1974 – photo opportunity.[2]
  • 1982 – photo op.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A photograph.

Verb

  1. To photograph.

Word family

  • photo-essay
  • photofinisher
  • photog
  • photographer
  • photograph
  • photography
  • photo-

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

“Photo.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/photo. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·