political

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /pəˈlɪt.ɪ.kᵊl/, US /pəˈlɪt̬.ɪ.kᵊl/^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin polīticus (“of citizens or the state”) with the suffix -al,^[2][3][4] the source of politic,^[2][3] from Greek πολιτικός (politikós), from πολίτης (polítēs, “citizen”), from πόλις (pólis, “city”).^[2][5] It is related to police, policy and politics.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the state or its government: 1529 according to Merriam-Webster and the HTOED,^[4][7] or the 1550s according to Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From 1577 to 1817 political could also mean “shrewd, crafty”, like politic.^[7] The sense “taking sides in party politics”, usually disapproving, is from 1749.^[2] Political science was first used by Hume in 1779, and political prisoner is from 1860.^[2] Political animal translates Aristotle's phrase in the Politics for man as a creature made to live in a city-state.^[2] The Word Origins dictionary notes that political correctness as a concept arose in the United States in the 1980s, though the expression is older.^[6]

Timeline

• 1529 – of the state.^[4][7]
• 1577–1817 – shrewd, crafty.^[7]
• 1749 – of party politics.^[2]
• 1779 – political science (Hume).^[2]
• 1860 – political prisoner.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Relating to the government or affairs of a state.
2. Relating to politics, political parties or politicians.
3. Having an organized policy or structure of government.
4. Concerned with power and status within an organization.

Word family

• politicalization
• politically
• antipolitical
• apolitical
• politicalize
• prepolitical
• pseudopolitical
• semipolitical

Related words

• politician
• politicize
• politick
• politico
• politic
• politics
• police
• policy
• polity

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b 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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)