topical

Etymology

It is formed from English topic + -al,^[2][3] or, in the words of several dictionaries, from Ancient Greek τοπικός (topikós, “of a place, of a commonplace”) with the English suffix.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} The Greek adjective comes from τόπος (tópos, “place”).^[6][3] Etymonline traces an earlier philosophical use, from the late 15th century, to Medieval Latin topicalis.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to a place; local: 1588, in J. Harvey's Discoursive Probleme concerning Prophesies.^[2][3] The Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the sense "of or arranged by topics" to about 1525.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The early uses came from logic and rhetoric, where a topical argument was one drawn from a topic or commonplace, applicable in most cases but not all;^[7][3] hence the sense "not demonstrative, merely probable" (1594–1710).^[2][5] Johnson (1755) gave "relating to some general head" and "local".^[9] The medical sense, of a remedy applied to one part of the body, is from 1608.^[2][3] The sense "of a topic or subject" is recorded from 1852,^[2] and the now usual sense, "relating to the topics of the day", from 1873, in Punch.^[2][3] As a noun, a topical was a film about current events from 1912,^[2] and in stamp and coin collecting it is an issue with a design on a theme.^[5]

Timeline

• 1588 – of a place, local.^[2]
• 1594 – of an argument, drawn from a topic, merely probable (obsolete by 1710).^[2]
• 1608 – in medicine, applied to a particular part of the body.^[2][3]
• 1852 – of a topic or subject of discourse.^[2]
• 1873 – relating to the topics of the day.^[2][3]
• 1912 – noun, a film about current events.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Dealing with matters of current interest; current: a topical joke about the election.^[10][5][2]
2. Of or relating to a topic, or arranged by topics.^[10][5][2]
3. Of a drug or ointment, applied to a particular part of the body surface: a topical anaesthetic.^[10][5][2]
4. Of or relating to a particular place; local.^[10][5][2]
5. (obsolete) Of an argument, not demonstrative but only probable.^[5][2][9]

Noun

1. A coin or stamp with a design on a particular theme, collected as such.^[5]

Word family

• topicality
• topically
• topicalize

Related words

• topic
• topography
• toponym
• utopia
• isotope

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins