policy

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈpɒl.ə.si/, US /ˈpɑː.lə.si/^[1]

policy¹ course of action

Etymology

The course of action is inherited from Middle English policie (“the art or practice of government”), borrowed from Old French policie (“political organization, civil administration”),^[2][3] from Late Latin politia (“the state, civil administration”), from Latin polītīa,^[2][4] from Ancient Greek πολιτεία (politeía, “citizenship, government, administration”), from πολίτης (polítēs, “citizen”), from πόλις (pólis, “city, state”).^[2][3][5] The same Latin word gave police, and polity took over its oldest sense.^[2][6] The SOED attributes the sense “cunning, prudence” partly to association with Latin polītus (“polished, refined”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The art or practice of government: about 1385, in Usk's Testament of Love,^[3] and an organized system of government in 1387–8.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English it meant also an organized state or commonwealth, from 1390,^[7][3] a sense now taken by polity.^[2] Political shrewdness and prudence in public affairs is from about 1420,^[7] and prudent or cunning conduct generally from about 1430, with a policy meaning “a trick, stratagem” from 1406.^[7] The main modern sense, a course of action adopted by a government, party or person, is from about 1430,^[7] or the early 15th century.^[2] In Scotland, policy also meant the grounds of a country house.^[8][6]

Timeline

• c. 1385 – the art of government (Usk).^[3]
• 1390 – an organized state (Chaucer).^[3][7]
• 1406 – a stratagem.^[7]
• c. 1420 – political sagacity.^[7]
• c. 1430 – a course of action.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A plan or course of action adopted by a government, party, business or person.
2. A guiding principle or procedure considered expedient.
3. Prudence or shrewdness in practical matters.
4. (Scotland) The grounds around a country house.

policy² insurance contract

Etymology

The contract is from earlier police, borrowed from Middle French police (“contract, bill of lading”),^[2][3][9] from Italian polizza (“written evidence of a transaction, note, ticket”),^[2][5] from Old Italian poliza,^[2][3] an alteration of Medieval Latin apodissa or apodixa (“receipt”),^[2][4][9] from Ancient Greek ἀπόδειξις (apódeixis, “proof, demonstration”), from ἀποδείκνυμι (apodeíknumi, “to show, demonstrate”),^[2][5] from ἀπό (apó, “off, from”) and δείκνυμι (deíknumi, “to show”), related to Latin dīcere (“to say”).^[2][5] The SOED points to Provençal polissa as an intermediate form.^[6] The ending changed under the influence of policy¹.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A document containing a contract of insurance: 1523 in the OED,^[7] and 1565 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster as police of assurance.^[3][9]

Semantic evolution

A conditional promissory note depending on a wager is from 1709–10.^[7] In the United States policy was a form of gambling on numbers drawn by lottery from 1830,^[7] the numbers game.^[10] Policy-holder and similar compounds are recorded from the 19th and 20th centuries.^[7]

Timeline

• 1523 – an insurance contract.^[7]
• 1565 – police of assurance.^[3]
• 1709–10 – a promissory note on a wager.^[7]
• 1830 – the numbers game.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A written contract of insurance; the document containing it.
2. (US) A numbers game.

Related words

• police
• polity
• politics
• political
• metropolis
• apodictic
• diction

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 k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
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)
9. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin