Etymologically
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worldwide

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 23:52. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˌwɜːldˈwaɪd/, US /ˈwɝːld.waɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound, from English world + wide,[2][3] also written world-wide.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As wide as the world, extending over the whole world: 1632 in the OED and MWU,[4][5] the 1630s in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

The adverb, throughout the world, is from 1892.[4] The World Wide Web, the system of linked documents on the Internet, took its name from the word in the late 20th century.[3]

Timeline

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Extending over or happening in the whole world; universal.

Adverb

  1. Throughout the world.

Word family

  • World Wide Web

Usage notes

In British English the stress may shift to the first syllable before a noun, as in worldwide cover.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b 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 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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster