Etymologically
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procedural

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Pronunciation

  • /pɹəˈsiːd͡ʒ(ə)ɹəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English procedure + -al.[2][3][4][5] The OED compares French procédural, recorded in Littré in 1877.[2] Procedure is from French procédure (“manner of proceeding”), from Old French proceder (“to proceed”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to procedure: 1876, in J. L. Laughlin's essay on Anglo-Saxon legal procedure.[2][3][6] The earlier OED (1989) and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate gave 1889,[7][8] and Dictionary.com dates it 1885–90.[5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective was at first used mainly of the procedure of courts and other bodies that administer the law, as distinct from substantive law.[6][9][2] From 1956 it described crime fiction, and later television drama, that shows professional, especially police, procedures in realistic detail.[2] From 1963 it was used as a noun for such a novel or programme, especially a police procedural.[2][6] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate had dated the noun only to 1972.[8] In computing, a procedural programming language is one in which the steps to be followed are specified, rather than the result wanted; the Shorter Oxford dates this to the late 20th century.[4]

Timeline

  • 1876 – of or relating to procedure.[2][3][6]
  • 1956 – of crime fiction, showing police or professional procedures in realistic detail.[2]
  • 1963 – noun, a novel or programme in this style.[2][6]
  • late 20th century – in computing, of programming languages that specify the procedure to follow.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to procedure, especially the procedure followed by courts, parliaments or other official bodies: The appeal failed on procedural grounds.[6][9][2]
  2. Of crime fiction or television drama: showing the work of the police or another profession in realistic detail.[2]
  3. (computing) Of a programming language: specifying the steps to be followed rather than the result wanted.[4]

Noun

  1. A novel, film or television series that shows the work of the police, lawyers or other professionals in realistic detail, especially a police procedural: a hospital procedural.[6][2][9]

Word family

  • procedurally
  • nonprocedural
  • police procedural

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin