Etymologically
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represent

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌrep.rɪˈzent/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English representen,[2][3] borrowed from Old French representer (“to present, show, portray”) (12th century),[3][2] and directly from Latin repraesentāre (“to make present, set in view, show”),[3][2] from re-, here perhaps intensive,[3][2][4] and praesentāre “to place before, present”,[3][2] from praesens “present, at hand”, from praeesse “to be before”, from prae- and esse “to be”.[3] It is related to present.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

“To bring clearly before the mind, especially by description”: 1375 in the OED and Barnhart.[5][2] Etymonline gives the late 14th century, also for “to symbolize, serve as a sign of”.[3]

Semantic evolution

To bring someone into another's presence is from about 1380.[5] “To act in place of, stand for” is from 1389, in Wycliffe's writings,[2] and “to show, portray, depict” from 1392.[2] In law, to speak and act for another by delegated right is from about 1500,[3] and “to describe as having a particular character” from about 1500,[3] 1513 in the OED.[5] The legislative sense, to be the elected deputy of a body of people, is from the 1650s,[3] the 17th century in Hoad.[6] To make objections, protest, is from 1717.[5] “To serve as an example of” is by 1858.[3] Representation is probably from before 1400, and representative from about 1385.[2]

Timeline

  • 1375 – to bring before the mind.[5][2]
  • c. 1385 – representative.[2]
  • 1389 – to stand for.[2]
  • 1392 – to portray.[2]
  • c. 1500 – to act for another in law.[3]
  • 1650s – to represent voters.[3]
  • 1717 – to protest.[5]
  • 1858 – to be an example of.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To act or speak officially for, as a lawyer or an elected representative.
  2. To stand for; to symbolize.
  3. To depict in art; to portray.
  4. To describe as having a particular character: represented himself as an expert.
  5. To be an example or instance of; to amount to: represents a big change.
  6. To present clearly to the mind.

Word family

  • representable
  • representer
  • misrepresent

Usage notes

The American Heritage groups represent with delineate, depict, limn, picture and portray, all meaning “to render a realistic image or likeness of”.[7]

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 i j k l m n Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon 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. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin