Etymologically
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pollution

Etymology and origin of the English word pollution

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1340
Borrowed from
Middle French pollution
Ultimate origin
Latin (polluo)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pəˈljuːʃən/, /pəˈluːʃən/ (UK); /pəˈluʃən/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English pollucioun, borrowed from Middle French pollution, and Late Latin pollutio (“defilement”),[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of polluere (“to soil, defile, contaminate”) (see pollute),[3][5] probably from *por-, before, and -luere, to smear, from PIE Proto-Indo-European *leu- (“dirt; to make dirty”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The discharge of semen other than in intercourse: about 1340 in the OED, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.[6][3]

Semantic evolution

Ceremonial impurity, the profanation of something sacred, is from 1382,[6] the late 14th century in Etymonline.[3] The general act of polluting or the condition of being polluted is from about 1420.[6] The contamination of the environment is recorded from about 1860, but it was not common until about 1955;[3] pollution control and pollution-free are from 1961.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1340 – seminal emission.[6]
  • 1382 – ceremonial defilement.[6]
  • c. 1420 – the act of polluting.[6]
  • c. 1860 – environmental contamination.[3]
  • 1961 – pollution control.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The contamination of air, water or land by harmful substances.
  2. Substances that pollute; pollutants.
  3. The act of polluting, or the state of being polluted.
  4. (archaic) Defilement or desecration.

Word family

  • antipollution
  • self-pollution
  • noise pollution
  • light pollution
  • pollute
  • pollutant

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pollution.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pollution. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·