Etymologically
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recruitment

Etymology and origin of the English word recruitment

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1793
Ultimate origin
English (recruit)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /rɪˈkruːt.mənt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from recruit and -ment.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The raising of new men for an army or navy: 1793 in Merriam-Webster, 1795 in Etymonline;[3][2] a reinforcement, 1824 in the OED.[5]

Semantic evolution

The earlier noun was recruiting (1640s).[2] Recruiting members of a class of people is from 1843 and restoring health from 1862.[5] In ecology recruitment is the increase in a population as young grow up (1938),[5][6] and in physiology the involvement of more and more motor neurons in a response (1923).[5]

Timeline

  • 1640s – recruiting.[2]
  • 1793 – recruitment.[3]
  • 1843 – recruitment of a class of persons.[5]
  • 1938 – in ecology.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act or process of recruiting people, as for an army, a company or an organization.
  2. (ecology) The increase in a natural population as young grow and new members arrive.

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  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 c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Recruitment.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/recruitment. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·