underestimate

Etymology

It is formed from English under- + estimate,^[2][3][4][5] the verb from the verb and the noun from the noun or from estimation.^[4][6] Klein took it as a loan translation of French sous-évaluer, a word he says Baudelaire coined,^[7] but the English verb is recorded from 1792.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To estimate something at too low an amount: 1792 in Merriam-Webster,^[4] 1812 in Etymonline.^[2] Dictionary.com dates it to 1805–15 and the Shorter Oxford to the early 19th century.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

From estimating amounts the verb passed to judging people and things, "to rate too low, undervalue", by 1850.^[2] The noun underestimation is recorded from 1853, and underestimate as a noun, a too-low estimate, by 1882.^[2] The phrase cannot be underestimated is often used where cannot be overestimated is meant.^[8][9]

Timeline

• 1792 – to estimate at too low an amount.^[4]
• 1812 – the same sense in Etymonline's first record.^[2]
• 1850 – to rank too low, undervalue.^[2]
• 1853 – underestimation.^[2]
• 1882 – noun, a too-low estimate.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To estimate something as smaller or less than it is: The builders underestimated the cost of the roof.^[8][4]
2. To think too little of; to undervalue: Never underestimate a determined rival.^[8][4]

Noun

1. An estimate that is too low.^[8][4]

Word family

• underestimation

Related words

• estimate
• overestimate
• estimation

Usage notes

Collins warns that underestimate is sometimes used by mistake where overestimate is meant: the importance of a discovery "cannot be overestimated", not "cannot be underestimated".^[8] Grammarphobia has discussed the same confusion.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b O'Conner, Patricia T.; Kellerman, Stewart, The Grammarphobia Blog, grammarphobia.com, p. "You can’t underestimate this … or can you?", 17 September 2009