system

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɪs.təm/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin systēma (“an arrangement, system”), a Late Latin word,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek σύστημα (sústēma, “an organized whole, a whole made of parts”),^[5][6] from the stem of συνιστάναι (sunistánai, “to place together, combine”),^[6][4] from σύν (sún, “together”) and ἱστάναι (histánai, “to cause to stand”),^[5][6] from Proto-Indo-European *sta- (“to stand”).^[5][7] The Shorter Oxford, Collins and Hoad allow that it may have come through French système.^[8][9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The whole of creation, the universe (1619, in the writings of John Selden).^[11][12]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, “the universe”, was obsolete by the early 19th century.^[12] The sense “a set of connected principles, facts or ideas” is recorded before 1656 according to Barnhart, or by the 1630s according to Etymonline,^[2][5] and a theory of astronomy such as the Copernican system from 1621.^[12][9] By the 1680s system was used of a group of heavenly bodies moving together, such as the sun and its planets, and of the animal body as an organized whole,^[5] hence get something out of one's system (by 1900).^[5] The system, the prevailing social or political order, especially seen as oppressive, dates from 1806.^[5][13] The computing sense, a group of related programs, is from 1963, and all systems go (1962) comes from the American space programme.^[5] Weekley compared its formation and senses with those of constitution.^[14]

Timeline

• 1619 – the universe (Selden).^[11][12]
• 1621 – a theory of astronomy.^[12]
• before 1656 – a set of connected principles or ideas.^[2]
• 1680s – the body as an organized whole; a group of heavenly bodies.^[5]
• 1806 – the system, the prevailing social order.^[5][13]
• 1900 – get it out of one's system.^[5]
• 1962 – all systems go.^[5]
• 1963 – a group of related computer programs.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A set of connected parts that work together as a whole.
2. A network, as of roads or pipes: the railway system.
3. A set of organs with a common function: the digestive system.
4. The body as a whole: alcohol in his system.
5. An organized scheme or method: a system of classification.
6. Orderliness, method.
7. (the system) The prevailing political or social order, seen as oppressive.
8. A group of heavenly bodies moving under mutual attraction: the solar system.
9. (geology) The rocks formed during a geological period.

Word family

• systemize
• systematic
• systematise
• systematize
• systemic

Related words

• stand
• state

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 Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
12. ^ a b c d e Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
13. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
14. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray