Etymologically
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tuition

Etymology and origin of the English word tuition

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1292
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman tuycioun
Ultimate origin
Latin (tuitio)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /tʃuˈɪʃ.ən/, /tjuˈɪʃ.ən/, US /tuˈɪʃ.ən/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman tuycioun, Old French tuicion, guardianship,[2][3][4] a learned borrowing of Latin tuitiō, a guarding, protection,[2][3][5] from tuērī, to look after, watch over,[2][3][6] which Barnhart compares with Old Irish cumtūth, protection.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Looking after or taking care of, custody: 1292 in the OED;[7] about 1410 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The position of a guardian over a ward is from 1494.[7] The sense of teaching or instructing pupils is from the 1580s, 1582 in the OED,[3][7][6] on the notion of the tutor as a guardian;[3] tutor comes from the same root.[6] Money paid for instruction is first recorded in 1828 in American English, probably short for tuition fees.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 1292 – care, custody.[7]
  • 1494 – guardianship.[7]
  • 1582 – teaching.[7]
  • 1828 – fees for teaching (US).[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Teaching or instruction, especially of a small group or individual.
  2. (chiefly US) The fee charged for instruction, especially at a college or university.
  3. (archaic) Guardianship.

Word family

  • tuitional
  • tuitionless
  • tutelage
  • tutelar
  • tutelary
  • tutor
  • tutorial
  • intuition

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Tuition.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/tuition. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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