dimension English · revision 10424

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1398|origins=la dimensio|origins=ine-pro *meh₁-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /daɪˈmɛn.ʃən/, /dɪˈmɛn.ʃən/ ''(UK)''; /dɪˈmɛn.ʃən/, /daɪˈmɛn.ʃən/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English dimencioun, from Middle French dimension or directly [[bor|la|dīmēnsiō|t=a measuring]], dīmēnsiōnem,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from dīmētīrī, to measure out, from dis-, apart, and mētīrī, to measure (see [[measure]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE *me-, to measure.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Measurement, size, measurable extent: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus;^(Barnhart 1988) the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In geometry a mode of linear measurement, such as length, breadth and thickness, is from 1413.^(OED 1989) Bulk, size, extent or capacity is from the 1520s (1529),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and extension in time from 1605.^(OED 1989) In algebra the degree of a product of quantities is from 1557.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, any aspect of a situation, is from 1929,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(NODE 1998) and a kind of realm or universe, as in Rod Serling's ''fifth dimension'' in ''The Twilight Zone'' (1959), came later.^(Etymonline) The verb, to cut to size, is from 1754.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1398 – measurement.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1413 – a geometrical dimension.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1529 – size, extent.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1754 – to dimension (verb).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1929 – an aspect.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1959 – the fifth dimension.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A measurement of size in a particular direction, such as length, width or height.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Extent or scope: ''a problem of vast dimensions''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An aspect or element: ''a new dimension to the debate''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics, physics)'' Any of the coordinates needed to locate a point in space or time.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cut or shape to particular dimensions, or to mark them.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dimensional]]

+ * [[dimensionally]]

+ * [[dimensionless]]

+ * [[dimensionality]]

+ * [[3-D]]

+ * [[four-dimensional]]

+ * [[multidimensional]]

+ * [[one-dimensional]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[measure]]

+ * [[immense]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}