substitution

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English substitucion,^[2][3] borrowed from Middle French substitution, also substitucion,^[4][3] and directly borrowed from Latin substitūtiō (“a putting in place of another”),^[4][2] which Etymonline, Merriam-Webster and the Shorter Oxford call Late Latin.^[2][3][5] The French word is recorded from 1378, for the appointment of a deputy, and earlier, once in Old French, as sustitution.^[4] The Latin noun is formed from the past participial stem of substituō (“to put in place of another”), with the suffix -iō;^[4][3] the verb is from sub- (“under”) and statuō (“to set up”),^[2][6][7] from Proto-Indo-European *sta- (“to stand, make or be firm”).^[2] Related forms are Old Occitan sustitussion (1371), Catalan substitució, Spanish sustitución, Portuguese substituição and Italian sostituzione.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The appointment of a deputy or delegate: before 1393, in Gower's Confessio Amantis.^[4] Etymonline gives the late 14th century and the sense "appointment of a subordinate or successor".^[2]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, delegation of authority, was obsolete by the end of the 17th century.^[4][5] From 1567 the word was a legal term for naming a person to inherit if the first heir named dies or fails a condition, a sense the Latin noun already had in Roman law.^[4][3] The general sense, putting one person or thing in place of another, is recorded from 1572,^[4] although Etymonline dates it only to 1888.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it as "the act of placing any person or thing in the room of another".^[8] Specialized senses followed: in theology a sacrifice standing for a person (1669), in mathematics the replacing of a term by an equal one (1694, or by 1710 in Etymonline),^[4][2] in grammar the use of one word for another (by 1728, now obsolete),^[2] in law the putting of one creditor in place of another (1803), in sport the replacing of a player (1828), and in trade the selling of a cheaper product in place of the one asked for (1856).^[4]

Timeline

• before 1393 – appointment of a deputy or delegate (obsolete by 1692).^[4]
• 1567 – law, the naming of a substitute heir.^[4]
• 1572 – the putting of one person or thing in place of another.^[4]
• 1590 – law, the naming of a substitute executor (obsolete by 1883).^[4]
• 1669 – theology, a sacrifice standing in place of a person.^[4]
• 1694 – mathematics, replacing a term by an equivalent one.^[4]
• 1728 – grammar, the use of one word for another (obsolete).^[2]
• 1755 – Johnson: placing a person or thing in the room of another.^[8]
• 1803 – law, putting one creditor in place of another.^[4]
• 1828 – sport, the replacement of one player by another.^[4]
• 1856 – the selling of an inferior product in place of the one asked for.^[4]
• 1876 – of vowel sounds.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of putting one person or thing in place of another, or the state of being put there: the substitution of honey for sugar in the recipe.^[9][3][4]
2. A person or thing used in place of another; a substitute.^[9]
3. In sport, the replacement of one player by another during a game.^[4]
4. (mathematics) The replacement of a term in an expression or equation by another of the same value.^[9][4]
5. (logic) The uniform replacement of one expression by another.^[9]
6. (law) The naming of a person to inherit if the heir first named cannot take the inheritance.^[3][4]
7. The selling of a cheaper product in place of the one a buyer asked for.^[4]
8. (obsolete, 1393–1692) The appointment of a deputy or successor.^[4][5]

Word family

• substitutional
• substitutionally
• substitutionary
• nonsubstitution
• substitution cipher
• substitution reaction

Related words

• substitute
• statute

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins