Etymologically
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statement

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈsteɪt.mənt/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English state + -ment, from the verb.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Something stated: Merriam-Webster gives 1702 as the first known use, for the sense of stating or presenting;[3] Etymonline finds “what is stated, a formal account of facts or opinions” in 1767, apparently first of the reports of the East India Company,[2] and the OED has “something stated” from 1775.[5]

Semantic evolution

“The action of stating” is from 1789.[2][5] A written or oral account setting out facts or demands is from 1787.[5] In commerce a statement, more fully a statement of account, a document listing debits and credits, is by 1885.[2][5] In music the presentation of a theme is from 1883,[5] and in computing an instruction in a program is from 1957.[5] In Britain a verb statement, “to give (a child) a statement of special educational needs”, is a late 20th-century back-formation from statementing.[4]

Timeline

  • 1702 – first known use, per Merriam-Webster.[3]
  • 1767 – a formal account of facts or opinions.[2]
  • 1775 – something stated.[5]
  • 1789 – the action of stating.[2][5]
  • 1883 – in music, the presentation of a theme.[5]
  • 1885 – a statement of account.[2][5]
  • 1957 – an instruction in a computer program.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Something stated; a declaration or remark.
  2. The act of stating something.
  3. An official account of facts or views, such as one issued to the press or given by a witness.
  4. A record of the transactions in a financial account over a period.
  5. (computing) An instruction in a program.
  6. (music) The presentation of a theme in a composition.
  7. A message conveyed indirectly, without words: a fashion statement.

Verb

  1. (British) To assess (a child) as having special educational needs.

Word family

  • counterstatement
  • nonstatement
  • restatement
  • understatement
  • bank statement
  • income statement
  • proxy statement

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