Etymologically
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residential

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌrez.ɪˈden.ʃəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from residence with the suffix -ial,[2][3] after pairs such as presidential or essence and essential;[2][3] Etymonline takes it from resident and -ial.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Serving or used as a residence: 1654 in the OED and MWU, the 1650s in Etymonline.[5][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Relating to residence or residences in general, and so to housing, is from 1856.[5][4] Suitable for the residence of the better classes is from 1878,[5] and of a Resident, a British official at a foreign court, from 1885, a rare sense.[5] The noun, a residential hotel, is from 1953.[5] Residential schools, courses and care, where people live as well as study or are looked after, are a later use.[6][2]

Timeline

  • 1654 – serving as a residence.[5]
  • 1856 – relating to housing.[5][4]
  • 1878 – suitable for good housing.[5]
  • 1953 – a residential hotel.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Suitable for or used for people's homes: a residential area.
  2. Relating to or requiring residence: a residential course.

Word family

  • residentially
  • nonresidential
  • residential college

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 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins