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Etymology and origin of the English word relational

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1657 before 1657, C. Croke, Fortune's Uncertainty
Ultimate origin
Latin relātiō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin relatio
English relation
English relational
French relation
Italian relazione
From the same root
Latin correlatio ← relatio
English relationship ← relation

Pronunciation

  • /rɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n(ə)l/, /rəˈleɪʃ(ə)n(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English relation + -al.[2][3][4][5] Relation is from Anglo-Norman relacioun and Latin relātiō (“a bringing back; a report”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to human relationships: before 1657, in C. Croke's Fortune's Uncertainty.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the kinship sense to about 1657,[6] and Etymonline dates the word to the 1660s.[3]

Semantic evolution

The general sense, relating to or expressing a relation between things, is recorded before 1690,[2] although Etymonline dates it only to 1840.[3] In grammar the word describes forms that express syntactic relations, such as the case endings of Latin,[7] and since 1895 a relational has also been a word, such as a preposition or conjunction, that expresses a relation between other words.[2] In 1970 E. F. Codd used it in computing for a database made of simple tables that can be combined in answer to queries, now the relational database.[2][7][4] In the 17th century the plural noun was used, rarely, for the matters of a personal relationship.[2]

Timeline

  • before 1657 – relating to human relationships.[2]
  • before 1690 – relating to or expressing relation between things.[2] Etymonline dates this sense to 1840.[3]
  • 1895 – grammar, noun, a word expressing relation.[2]
  • 1970 – computing, of a database stored in tables.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to or consisting in a relation between things.[7][6][2]
  2. Of or relating to human relationships or kinship.[6][2]
  3. (grammar) Expressing a syntactic relation, as the case endings of Latin do.[7]
  4. (computing) Of a database, storing data in tables that can be linked and combined: a relational database.[7][2][4]

Noun

  1. (grammar) A word, such as a preposition or conjunction, that expresses a relation between other words.[2]

Word family

  • relationally
  • nonrelational
  • relational database
  • relational grammar

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Relational.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/relational. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·