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shortlist

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Etymology and origin of the English word shortlist

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1730 Daily Journal
Ultimate origins
Old English sceortFrankish *līsta
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English short
English shortlist
From the same root
English shorten ← short
English shorthand ← short
English shorty ← short

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈʃɔːtlɪst/[1]
  • US: /ˈʃɔːrtlɪst/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English short + list.[2][3] The verb is a conversion of the noun.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A list of selected names or candidates from which a final choice is made: 1730, in the Daily Journal.[2] Etymonline dates the noun short list in this sense to 1927,[3] Merriam-Webster gives 1927 as the first date of short list,[4] and Dictionary.com dates the word to 1925–30.[5]

Semantic evolution

The noun names a reduced list of candidates for a post or an award, from which the final choice is made, and more generally any small selection.[2][6] The verb, to put someone on such a list, is recorded from 1905 in the OED,[2] while Etymonline dates it to 1955, with the sense of placing someone on the short list for advancement or preferment.[3] Collins labels both the noun and the verb as chiefly British,[6] and Merriam-Webster labels the hyphenated verb short-list chiefly British.[4] The word is also written as two words or with a hyphen.[1][4]

Timeline

  • 1730 – noun, a list of selected names from which a final choice is made.[2]
  • 1905 – verb, to put someone or something on a shortlist.[2] Etymonline dates the verb to 1955.[3]
  • 1927 – short list, a list of candidates for final consideration.[4][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A list of the most suitable candidates or items, chosen from a larger number, from which the final selection is made, as for a job or a prize: Three novels made the shortlist for the award.[6][2][7]

Verb

  1. To put someone or something on a shortlist: Four applicants were shortlisted for the post.[6][2][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Shortlist.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/shortlist. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·