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topic

Etymology and origin of the English word topic

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1634
Borrowed from
Latin Topica
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (τοπικός)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈtɒp.ɪk/, US /ˈtɑː.pɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is the singular of Topics (before 1568), the English name of Aristotle's work on logical and rhetorical commonplaces,[2][3] borrowed from Latin Topica,[3][4] from Ancient Greek τὰ τοπικά (tà topiká, “matters concerning commonplaces”),[3][2] the neuter plural of topikós “of a place, of a commonplace”,[3][4] from tópos “place”.[3][2] It is related to topos and topical.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A class of considerations from which arguments for debate can be drawn: 1634 in Barnhart, the 1630s in Etymonline.[2][3] The adjective, of the nature of a commonplace, is from 1581 in the OED.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The meaning “the subject of a speech or piece of writing, a theme” is by 1720, in the writings of Swift.[2][3] An adjective topic meaning local (1610) and, in medicine, applied to a part of the body (1601) is obsolete;[5] topical (1588) took those senses,[2] and later meant concerned with current affairs (1873, in Punch).[2]

Timeline

  • 1568 – Topics, Aristotle's work.[2]
  • 1581 – adjective, of a commonplace.[5]
  • 1634 – a head of argument.[2]
  • 1720 – the subject of a discourse.[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A subject that people talk or write about.
  2. A subject for a speech, essay or discussion.
  3. A section of a theme or outline.

Word family

  • subtopic
  • topical
  • topic sentence

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Topic.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/topic. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·