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supportive

Etymology and origin of the English word supportive

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1593
Ultimate origin
English (support)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /səˈpɔːtɪv/ (UK); /səˈpɔɹtɪv/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is from the verb support with the suffix -ive.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Sustaining, supporting, at first figuratively: 1593, the 1590s in Etymonline.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Called rare about 1900 by the first edition of the OED and by the Century Dictionary, it has since grown common.[2] The Elizabethans also had supportful.[2] Supportiveness is from 1968.[5] The variant supportative (1972) was condemned by the OED as unnecessary.[2] In medicine, supportive treatment improves the general condition rather than acting on the disease.[4]

Timeline

  • 1593 – supporting.[5]
  • 1968 – supportiveness.[5]
  • 1972 – supportative.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Giving support or help, especially moral or emotional encouragement.
  2. (medicine) Of treatment, intended to improve the patient's general condition.

Word family

  • supportively
  • supportiveness
  • nonsupportive
  • unsupportive

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ 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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Supportive.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/supportive. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·