Etymologically
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relevance

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈɹɛl.ɪ.vən(t)s/, /ˈɹɛl.ə.vən(t)s/[1]

Etymology

It was formed from English relevant + -ance in English,[2][3][4][5] or perhaps as a back-formation from the earlier relevancy.[6] The adjective relevant comes from Medieval Latin relevāns (“legitimate, pertinent”), a medieval use of the present participle of relevō (“to raise up, lighten, relieve”),[2][6][7][8] the verb behind relieve.[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Scots law, legal sufficiency, the adequacy of a charge or claim: 1625,[2] although the OED notes that its quotations of 1625 and 1661 may be spellings of relevancy.[2] Barnhart and Etymonline date relevance to 1733,[10][3] and relevancy to 1561.[10][11]

Semantic evolution

Like relevant, the word was at first a Scottish legal term and came into general English only after 1800.[6][7][3] The general sense, connection with the matter in hand, is recorded from 1787.[2] In the 20th century it came to be used without any stated subject for pertinence to current issues and needs, from 1935.[2][4] In computing it has meant, since 1960, how well a document or search result meets a user's needs.[2][11]

Timeline

  • 1561 – relevancy.[10][11]
  • 1625 – (Scots law) legal sufficiency.[2]
  • 1733 – relevance, in Barnhart and Etymonline.[10][3]
  • 1787 – connection with the matter in hand.[2]
  • 1935 – pertinence to current issues.[2]
  • 1960 – (computing) the degree to which a result meets a search.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Close connection with or bearing on the matter being considered: The judge questioned the relevance of the evidence.
  2. Importance or usefulness to present-day concerns or needs: Critics doubt the play's relevance to young audiences.
  3. (computing) How well retrieved information matches what a user was searching for.

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
  10. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  11. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster