Etymologically
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tutorial

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:24. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˌtuˈtoɹiəl/, /ˌtuˈtɔɹiəl/[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tūtōrius (“of a guardian”) with the suffix -al.[2][3][4][5] The Latin adjective comes from tūtor (“guardian, protector”), the source of tutor, a noun formed on the past participle of tueor (“to watch over, look at”).[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to a legal guardian: 1742, according to Etymonline;[6] the OED's first example is from Lord Kames in 1766, in Roman and Scots law,[2] and the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English date the word to the early 18th century.[4][7]

Semantic evolution

The adjective moved from guardians to teachers: "of a tutor or instructor", especially a college tutor, is recorded from Macaulay in 1822.[2][6][3] The noun, a period of instruction given by a university tutor to one student or a small group, appears in 1923, in George Saintsbury,[2][6][3] and remains a feature of British university teaching.[8] With computers it came to mean a printed account of a subject for study on one's own (1978),[2][6] or a program that teaches the use of software.[9] Since 1984 it has also meant a video showing how to carry out a task.[2]

Timeline

  • 1742 – of a legal guardian.[6]
  • 1766 – the OED's first example, in Scots law.[2]
  • 1822 – of a teacher or tutor.[2][3]
  • 1923 – the noun, a tutor's teaching session.[2][3]
  • 1978 – an explanation of a subject for private study.[2][6]
  • 1984 – a video demonstration of a task.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A period of teaching by a tutor for one student or a small group, especially at a university.
  2. A book, program, video or web page that teaches a skill or subject step by step: an online tutorial on editing photos.

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to, or given by a tutor.
  2. (Roman law, Scots law) Of a legal guardian.

Word family

  • nontutorial

References

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