similar

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈsɪm.ɪ.lə/, US /ˈsɪm.ə.lɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French similaire,^[2][3][4] perhaps also from Medieval Latin *similāris, an extended form of Latin similis (“like, resembling, of the same kind”).^[2][3][5] Latin similis is from Old Latin semol (“together”),^[3][6] from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; as one, together with”).^[3][4][7] An earlier form, similary, is recorded from the 1560s.^[3][2][7] It is related to same, simile, assimilate, resemble and simulate.^[2][6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having a marked likeness, of a like kind: 1611, in Cotgrave's dictionary.^[2][9][10]

Semantic evolution

Chiefly in anatomy, similar also meant “of the same substance throughout, homogeneous”, from 1626 to the early 18th century.^[9][5][8] In mathematics, similar figures, with equal angles and proportional sides, are recorded from 1704.^[9] In music, similar motion, in which voices move in the same direction, is from 1861.^[9] The noun “that which is similar” is from the 1650s,^[3] or 1654 according to Merriam-Webster.^[11] Similarity is from 1664.^[2] In Perthshire dialect, similar the same meant “nearly the same”.^[12]

Timeline

• 1560s – earlier form similary.^[3]
• 1611 – having a resemblance (Cotgrave).^[2][9]
• 1626 – homogeneous (obsolete).^[9]
• 1650s – noun, something similar.^[3]
• 1664 – similarity.^[2]
• 1704 – in geometry.^[9]
• 1861 – similar motion in music.^[9]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Alike in appearance or nature, though not identical.
2. (geometry) Having equal corresponding angles and proportional sides.

Noun

1. Something similar to another.

Word family

• similarly
• nonsimilar
• unsimilar
• self-similar
• similarity

Related words

• dissimilar
• same
• simile
• assimilate
• resemble
• simulate
• semblance

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
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 Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)