Etymologically
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valid

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈvæl.ɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French valide and directly from Latin validus (“strong, effective, powerful”),[2][3][4] from valēre (“to be strong”),[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *wal- (“to be strong”).[2] It is related to value and invalid.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Good or adequate in law, legally binding: 1571.[6][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Of arguments and proofs, well founded and applicable, is from before 1648 in the OED and Barnhart, the 1640s in Etymonline.[6][3][2] The classical sense “strong, powerful” was used from the 1650s but is now archaic.[2][6] Of persons, healthy and strong, is from 1652, and the noun, a person in good health, the opposite of an invalid, from 1882.[6] Validity is from about 1550, and validate from before 1648.[3]

Timeline

  • 1571 – legally binding.[6]
  • before 1648 – well founded.[6]
  • 1652 – healthy, robust (archaic).[6]
  • 1882 – the noun, a healthy person.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Based on good reasons or facts; reasonable: a valid point.
  2. Legally acceptable or in force: a valid passport.
  3. (logic) Of an argument, having a conclusion that follows from its premises.

Word family

  • validity
  • validly
  • validness
  • validate
  • validation
  • invalid
  • value

Usage notes

Valid, sound, cogent, convincing and telling all describe arguments or reasons that persuade because they are well founded.[7]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin