senior

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈsiː.ni.ə/, US /ˈsiː.njɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin senior (“older, elder”),^[2][3] the comparative of senex (“old”) (genitive senis),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *sénos (“old”),^[3][2] the source also of Old Irish sen, Greek hénos, Lithuanian sẽnas, Armenian hin, Sanskrit sána- and Gothic sineigs “old”, sinista “eldest”.^[3][5][4] The noun is from the adjective.^[3][2] Latin senior also gave titles of respect in many languages: French sire, Spanish señor, Portuguese senhor and Italian signor.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

“The elder”, added to a personal name to distinguish a father from a son of the same name: 1287–88,^[3] the late 13th century, in the Leet rolls of the City of Norwich (“Walterus Baddyng, seniore”).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The noun, “a person of authority”, is from the mid-14th century (1363),^[2][3] and “a person older than another” from the late 14th century.^[2] “Higher in rank, longer in service”, as in a senior officer, is first recorded in 1513.^[3][2][6] An advanced student is a senior from 1612,^[3] and in American use a student in the fourth year from 1741.^[3] In commerce the senior partner of a firm is from 1864.^[6] An elderly person is a senior by 1889,^[2] and senior citizen, usually one past retirement age, is American from 1938.^[2][3][6] Seniority is from the 15th century, from Medieval Latin.^[5]

Timeline

• 1287–88 – the elder, after a name.^[3]
• 1363 – noun, a person of authority.^[3]
• late 14th century – a person older than another.^[2]
• 1513 – higher in rank.^[3][6]
• 1612 – an advanced student.^[3]
• 1741 – a fourth-year student.^[3]
• 1889 – an elderly person.^[2]
• 1938 – senior citizen.^[2][3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Higher in rank or standing, or longer in service.
2. The elder of two people with the same name, as father and son: John Smith Senior.
3. For or relating to elderly people.
4. (US) Of the final year of a high school or college.

Noun

1. A person who is older than another: five years my senior.
2. An elderly person; a senior citizen.
3. A person of higher rank or standing.
4. (US) A student in the final year of high school or college.

Word family

• seniority
• senior chief petty officer
• senior high school
• senior lecturer

Related words

• senile
• senate
• sir
• sire
• señor
• signor
• seignior

Usage notes

Senior was also an obsolete spelling of seignior.^[6]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press