Etymologically
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problem

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈprɒb.ləm/, US /ˈprɑː.bləm/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English probleme, borrowed from Old French probleme and directly borrowed from Latin problēma,[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma, “a thing put forward, a question proposed”),[2][3][5] from προβάλλειν (probállein, “to throw forward, propose”),[2][5][6] from πρό (pró, “forward”) and βάλλειν (bállein, “to throw”).[2][7][6] The Greek word also meant a projection or headland, a barrier, and a problem in geometry.[2][8] It is related to ballistic.[9][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A puzzling question, a riddle: before 1382, in the Wycliffe Bible.[3][10]

Semantic evolution

In the late 14th century a problem was also a question put forward for scholarly discussion.[3][2][9] It meant “a difficulty” from 1464[3] or the mid-15th century,[2] and a proposition in geometry or mathematics from 1570[3] or the 1560s.[2] “A doubtful or difficult question” is from 1594.[3][10] The pattern the — problem for a persistent social difficulty is found from 1882,[2] problem child by 1916,[2] and a chronic personal difficulty, as in a drink problem, from 1950.[10] No problem is dated 1963 by the OED[10] and 1968 by Etymonline.[2] Problematical is from 1570 and problematic from 1609.[3]

Timeline

  • before 1382 – a riddle (Wycliffe Bible).[3]
  • before 1387 – a question for scholarly study.[3]
  • 1464 – a difficulty.[3]
  • 1570 – a problem in mathematics, and problematical.[3]
  • 1594 – a doubtful question.[3][10]
  • 1609 – problematic.[3]
  • 1916 – problem child.[2]
  • 1950 – a personal difficulty.[10]
  • 1963 – no problem.[10]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A question to be considered, solved or answered.
  2. A situation, matter or person that causes difficulty or perplexity.
  3. (mathematics) A proposition in which something is to be done or found.

Adjective

  1. Difficult to deal with or control: a problem child.
  2. Dealing with a moral or social problem.
  • problematic
  • ballistic
  • emblem
  • parable
  • symbol
  • hyperbole

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 k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ 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