systematic
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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
- Done according to a fixed plan or method; methodical.
- Forming or relating to a system.
- (biology) Relating to taxonomic classification.
Word family
- systematically
- systematicness
- presystematic
- intersystematic
- nonsystematic
- oversystematic
- systematics
- systematize
Related words
- systemic
- system
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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