Etymologically
Log in

title

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈtaɪ.təl/, US /ˈtaɪ.t̬əl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English title, partly inherited from Old English titul (“superscription”) and partly borrowed from Old French title (“title or chapter of a book; position; legal permit”),[2][3][4] modern French titre by dissimilation,[2][5] both from Latin titulus (“inscription, label, placard, heading; title of honour”),[2][3] a word of unknown origin.[2][3][5] It is a doublet of tilde,[3] and related to tittle.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An inscription on or over an object: Old English titul, about 950, in the Lindisfarne Gospels,[3][6] originally especially the superscription on Christ's cross;[2] Middle English tytyl about 1303, in Mannyng.[3]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline explains the notion as an inscription placed over something to distinguish it.[2] The heading of a section of a book is from the 14th century, a sense kept in law books.[2][6] The name of a book or poem is from before 1340[6] or the late 14th century.[2] A deed giving the legal right to land is from the early 14th century, hence the right of ownership itself;[2] the HTOED dates legal title to 1357.[7] A claim or justification is from the late 14th century.[2] A name showing a person's rank is from the 1580s,[2] or 1534 for a title prefixed to a name.[7] Any publication is a title in the trade by 1895.[2] A sports championship is from 1913, in lawn tennis.[2] The title page is from the 1610s, and the title role from 1852.[2] Film titles, written material shown on screen, are from 1905.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 950 – Old English titul, an inscription.[3][6]
  • early 14th century – a deed to property.[2]
  • before 1340 – the name of a book.[6]
  • 1357 – legal right.[7]
  • 1534 – a title of rank.[7]
  • 1610s – title page.[2]
  • 1852 – title role.[2]
  • 1905 – film titles.[6]
  • 1913 – a championship.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The name of a book, play, film, musical composition or other work; a publication.
  2. A heading, as of a chapter.
  3. A word showing a person's rank, office or status, such as Lord or Dr.
  4. (law) The right of ownership of property; a document proving it.
  5. A championship in sport.
  6. (often titles) Written text shown on screen in a film, such as credits or subtitles.

Verb

  1. To give a title to; to entitle.

Word family

  • nontitle
  • titleholder
  • titlist
  • entitle
  • subtitle
  • supertitle
  • surtitle
  • mistitle

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 d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)