Etymologically
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suggestive

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Pronunciation

  • /sə(ɡ)ˈd͡ʒɛs.tɪv/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English suggest + -ive.[2][3][4] Merriam-Webster derives it from Latin suggestus, the past participle of suggerō (“to suggest”), with the suffix -ive,[5][6] and the OED from an unrecorded Latin *suggestīvus, comparing Italian suggestivo and Portuguese suggestivo; it notes that French suggestif was taken from English.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fitted to suggest thoughts or ideas; conveying a hint or implying something not stated directly: 1631, in John Weever's Ancient Funerall Monuments.[7][5] Etymonline also dates the word to the 1630s.[3]

Semantic evolution

The early sense of hinting at something unexpressed widened in the 19th century: from 1846 the word was used of a thinker or writer who stimulates thought, and the phrase suggestive of something appears in 1850.[7] A euphemistic sense, apt to suggest something indecent, is recorded from 1888,[7][3] and is now the common meaning of the word on its own.[8][9] At the end of the 19th century it was also used of hypnotic suggestion.[7][2] A legal sense, resting on a "suggestion" or information laid before a court, is recorded only before 1700.[7]

Timeline

  • 1631 – conveying a suggestion or hint; implying something unexpressed.[7][5]
  • 1806 – of a plan or method, that suggests itself.[7]
  • 1846 – of a thinker or writer, stimulating thought.[7]
  • 1850 – suggestive of, evoking something.[7]
  • 1888 – apt to suggest something indecent.[7][3]
  • before 1901 – of or relating to hypnotic suggestion.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Tending to bring something to mind; giving a hint of it, often in suggestive of: The sound of the waves was suggestive of a summer holiday.[8][5][9]
  2. Hinting at sexual matters; mildly indecent or risqué.[8][9][5]
  3. Full of ideas; stimulating thought or reflection.[5][7]
  4. Of or relating to hypnotic suggestion.[7][2]

Word family

  • suggestively
  • suggestiveness
  • nonsuggestive
  • unsuggestive

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ a b c Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press