Etymologically
Log in

reliant

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 16:34. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /rɪˈlaɪənt/, /rəˈlaɪənt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English rely + -ant,[2][3][4] probably on the model of the earlier noun reliance, recorded from 1606.[2][3][5] Merriam-Webster and Webster's Third call it a back-formation from reliance.[6][7] rely goes back through Middle English relien (“to gather, rally”) to Old French relier (“to fasten, bind together, rally”), from Latin religō (“to bind fast”),[8][3][2] formed from re- and ligō (“to bind”), from Proto-Indo-European *leig- (“to tie, bind”).[8][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, from 1665 in E. Waterhouse's Gentleman's Monitor, is a noun: a person who relies on someone, a dependant, a use the OED marks as rare and obsolete.[2] The adjective, "having reliance; dependent on someone or something", follows in 1702, in R. Evans's Holy Emulation Urged.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word long looked newer than it is: the OED of 1989 dated the adjective from 1856, in the sense "having reliance or confidence; trustful",[9] and Etymonline and Dictionary.com still date it to the 1850s,[3][4] while Merriam-Webster's Collegiate gives 1849.[10] The OED's revision of December 2009 found the noun of 1665 and the adjective of 1702.[2] Etymonline notes that the meaning slides from "confident, trusting" into "dependent on", a sense it records by 1878, and that Chrysler nonetheless chose Reliant as the name of a car in 1981.[3] The compound self-reliant is the usual form when the sense is confidence in oneself.[9][5]

Timeline

  • 1665 – noun, a person who relies on another, a dependant (obsolete).[2]
  • 1702 – adjective, dependent on someone or something.[2][6]
  • 1849 – first date in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate.[10]
  • 1856 – having confidence, trustful; the OED's first date in 1989.[9][3]
  • 1878 – dependent on, in Etymonline.[3]
  • 1981 – used by Chrysler as the name of a car.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Depending on someone or something for help or support; dependent: The island is reliant on ferries for its food.[6][11][2]
  2. Having trust or confidence in someone or something; trusting.[6][9]

Word family

  • reliantly
  • overreliant
  • self-reliant

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin