Etymologically
Log in

similarity

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word similarity

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1615 H. Crooke, Mikrokosmographia
Ultimate origin
Latin similis
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English similar
English similarity

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌsɪm.ɪˈlæɹ.ɪ.ti/, /ˌsɪm.ɪˈlæɹ.ə.ti/[1]
  • US: /ˌsɪm.əˈlæɹ.ə.ti/, /ˌsɪm.əˈlɛɹ.ə.ti/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English similar + -ity,[2][3][4][5] perhaps also after French similarité.[3][4] The OED compares Medieval Latin similaritas, recorded from before 1540.[2] The adjective similar goes back, through similaire, to Latin similis (“like, resembling”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state of being similar; likeness: 1615, in Helkiah Crooke's anatomy, Mikrokosmographia.[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1664 and Etymonline the 1660s.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it simply as likeness.[7] As a count noun, a point in which one thing resembles another, it is recorded from 1750, in Benjamin Franklin's writings on electricity, and is usually plural;[2] Etymonline dates the plural similarities to 1838.[4]

Timeline

  • 1615 – likeness, resemblance.[2]
  • 1664 – Merriam-Webster's first record.[6]
  • 1750 – a point of resemblance.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The quality or state of being similar; resemblance: The similarity between the two sisters is striking.[6][2]
  2. A point or feature in which things are alike, usually in the plural: There are several similarities between the two plans.[2][3]

Word family

  • dissimilarity
  • nonsimilarity
  • self-similarity

Usage notes

Dictionary.com lists similitude, correspondence and parallelism as near synonyms, and difference as the opposite.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
Cite this entry

“Similarity.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/similarity. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·