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political

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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
  • 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)