Etymologically
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visual

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈvɪʒ.u.əl/, /ˈvɪz.ju.əl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English visual, borrowed from Late Latin vīsuālis (“of sight”),[2][3] from Latin vīsus “sight”, past participle of vidēre “to see”,[2][3] and the suffix -al.[3] It is related to vision, visible and wit.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Coming from the eye, said of a beam thought to go from the eye to the thing seen: 1412–20 in the OED, in Lydgate's Troy Book.[5][3][6]

Semantic evolution

Visible, perceptible by sight, is from the late 15th century,[2] and relating to the power of sight from 1603.[5][3] Knowledge gained by sight is from 1651,[5] and done by sight alone from 1849.[5] The noun first meant a ray from the eye (1726);[3][4] a picture, film or display, often visuals, is from 1951.[3] Visualize is from 1817 and visualization from 1883.[3]

Timeline

  • 1412–20 – of a beam from the eye.[5]
  • 1603 – relating to sight.[5][3]
  • 1726 – noun, a visual ray.[3]
  • 1817 – visualize.[3]
  • 1951 – noun, a picture or display.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to sight or seeing.
  2. Able to be seen; using images.

Noun

  1. (often plural) A picture, chart or film used to show or explain something.

Word family

  • visually
  • audiovisual
  • nonvisual
  • visualize
  • subvisual
  • supervisual
  • televisual
  • unvisual

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press