presentation

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌprez.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/, US /ˌprez.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/, /ˌpriː.zənˈteɪ.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English presentacioun, borrowed from Old French presentacion and directly borrowed from Late Latin praesentātiō (“a placing before, an exhibition”) (accusative praesentationem),^[2][3][4][5] a noun of action from praesentāre (“to place before, show, exhibit”) (see present²),^[2][3][5] from the stem of praesēns (“present”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In church use, the action or right of presenting a clergyman to a bishop as candidate for a benefice: 1278 in the OED,^[6] probably 1383 in Barnhart.^[2] Etymonline has the act of presenting, the ceremonious giving of a gift or prize, from the late 14th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The formal presenting of a person before God as a religious act, as in the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, is from about 1400.^[6] That which is offered or presented is from the mid-15th century,^[3] and a theatrical or other representation from about 1600.^[3] The presenting of a candidate for examination or a degree is from 1683,^[6] and a ceremonious introduction to a superior, as at court, from 1788.^[6] A talk or lecture setting out a subject for an audience, and the manner in which something is set out, are later developments.^[7][8] In medicine, presentation is the position of the baby at the mouth of the womb during birth.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 1278 – presentation to a benefice.^[6]
• late 14th century – the giving of a gift.^[3]
• c. 1400 – a presentation before God.^[6]
• c. 1600 – a theatrical representation.^[3]
• 1788 – a formal introduction at court.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of presenting something, or the state of being presented.
2. A talk or lecture that sets out information or ideas for an audience.
3. Something offered or given, such as an award or gift, especially at a ceremony.
4. The way in which something is set out or shown to others.
5. A formal introduction, as to a sovereign at court.
6. (medicine) The position of the baby in the uterus at birth.

Word family

• presentational
• nonpresentation
• presentationism
• representation
• self-presentation

Related words

• present
• presence
• presentable

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins