supervisor English · revision 15163

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1454|origins=la-med supervideō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈsuː.pə.vaɪ.zə/, US /ˈsuː.pɚ.vaɪ.zɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-med|supervīsor]], an agent noun from [[m|la-med|supervideō|t=to oversee, inspect]] (see [[supervise]]).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person who directs a business, body or piece of work: 1454 in the OED, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A person named in a will to oversee its executors is from 1456,^(OED 1989) and an inspector of highways from 1555, now only a railway road-master in the United States.^(OED 1989) Two senses are obsolete or rare: an onlooker (1604) and a reviser of a text (1624).^(OED 1989) In some US states, earlier colonies, a supervisor is an elected township official (1719).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) At Cambridge University a supervisor gives tutorial instruction (1923).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1454 – a director of work.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1456 – an overseer of executors.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1555 – an inspector of highways.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1604 – a spectator (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1719 – a township official (US).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who supervises; a manager or [[foreman]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person in charge of a department or unit, as in a government agency or school system.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US)'' An elected administrative officer of certain counties and townships.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British universities)'' A tutor who supervises a student's work, especially research.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' A spectator.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[supervisory]]

+ * [[supervisorship]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[supervise]]

+ * [[supervision]]

+ * [[vision]]

+ * [[revise]]

+ * [[visor]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}