systematic

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌsɪs.tɪˈmæt.ɪk/, /ˌsɪs.təˈmæt.ɪk/ (UK); /ˌsɪs.təˈmæt.ɪk/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French systématique or directly Late Latin systēmaticus,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek συστηματικός (sustēmatikós, “combined in a whole”),^[2][4] from σύστημα (sústēma) (see system).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to a system: the 1670s in Etymonline, before 1680 in the OED.^[2][5] The New Oxford dates it to the early 18th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Methodical, arranged according to a plan, is attested by 1789,^[2][5] often in a bad sense, ruthlessly methodical or unduly formal,^[2] as of abuse carried out with regularity, from 1803.^[5] In natural history, relating to a system of classification, it is from 1796.^[5] Systematic error in statistics is from 1925.^[5] Systematical is from the 1660s.^[2]

Timeline

• 1660s – systematical.^[2]
• 1670s – of a system.^[2]
• 1789 – methodical.^[2][5]
• 1796 – of classification.^[5]
• 1925 – systematic error.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Done according to a fixed plan or method; methodical.
2. Forming or relating to a system.
3. (biology) Relating to taxonomic classification.

Word family

• systematically
• systematicness
• presystematic
• intersystematic
• nonsystematic
• oversystematic
• systematics
• systematize

Related words

• systemic
• system

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press