Etymologically
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production

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /prəˈdʌk.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English produccioun, borrowed from Old French production (“production, exhibition”),[2][3] and directly Medieval Latin prōductiō (“a prolonging, lengthening”),[2][3][4] from prōductus, past participle of prōdūcere (“to bring forth”),[2][5] the source of produce.[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of producing, a coming into being: 1410,[3] or about 1400.[2] The OED's earliest quotation is from 1483.[7]

Semantic evolution

That which is produced, a product, is from the mid-15th century,[2] or about 1430.[7][3] The bringing forward of a document in law is from 1470.[8][7] A literary or artistic work is a production from 1651,[7] a theatrical performance from 1894, and the colloquial “fuss, commotion”, as in make a production of it, from 1941.[2] In political economy the creation of wealth is from 1784.[7]

Timeline

  • 1410 – the act of producing.[3]
  • c. 1430 – a product.[7]
  • 1470 – the producing of evidence.[8]
  • 1651 – a literary or artistic work.[7]
  • 1784 – in political economy.[7]
  • 1894 – a theatrical production.[2]
  • 1941 – a fuss.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act or process of producing; the fact of being produced.
  2. The creation of value or wealth by producing goods and services.
  3. Something produced; a product; the amount produced, output.
  4. A work of art or literature; a play, film or broadcast as presented.
  5. (informal) A fuss: make a production of it.

Word family

  • productional
  • nonproduction
  • overproduction
  • preproduction
  • reproduction
  • underproduction
  • production line
  • factor of production

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)