important English · revision 2021

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1444|origins=la portāre}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ɪmˈpɔː.tənt/, US /ɪmˈpɔːr.tənt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|importante]],^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|la-med|importāns|t=important, momentous]] (stem [[m|la-med|important-]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) the present participle of [[m|la-med|importāre|t=to be significant, to signify]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(MW Collegiate) from [[la|importāre|t=to bring in, convey]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|in-|t=in, into]] and [[m|la|portāre|t=to carry]].^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Merriam-Webster's Unabridged gives a route through [[frm|important]] from [[it|importante]],^(MWU 2024) and Klein derives it from French.^(Klein 1966) It is related to [[import]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Significant, of great consequence, weighty: 1444.^(Barnhart 1988)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of a person it meant “influential, powerful” from 1581.^(HTOED) From 1591 to 1787 it could also mean “importunate, urgent”, a sense the AHD still lists.^(HTOED)^(AHD) The sense “pompous, self-important” is dated 1713 by Etymonline^(Etymonline) and 1726 by the HTOED.^(HTOED) Of antiques and works of art, ''important'' has meant “of great value” since 1810.^(HTOED) ''Importance'' is recorded in 1508, in Wolsey's letters to Henry VII.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1444 – significant, weighty.^(Barnhart 1988)^(HTOED)

+ * 1508 – ''importance''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1581 – of a person, influential.^(HTOED)

+ * 1591 – importunate (obsolete by 1787).^(HTOED)

+ * 1713 – pompous.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1810 – of antiques, valuable.^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having great [[significance]] or consequence.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Having high rank or influence: ''an important man''.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # Showing a sense of one's own importance; [[pompous]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(archaic)'' [[importunate|alt=Importunate]].^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[importantly]]

+ * [[superimportant]]

+ * [[unimportant]]

+ * [[all-important]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[import]]

+ * [[importance]]

+ * [[portable]]

+ * [[porter]]

+ * [[report]]

+ * [[support]]

+ * [[transport]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Both ''more important'' and ''more importantly'' are used to introduce a statement (''More importantly, her record is unmatched'').^(RHWU)^(AHD) Some object to ''importantly'' because the phrase is short for ''what is more important'',^(RHWU) but the AHD sees no reason to prefer either form,^(AHD) and RHWU notes that ''more importantly'' is now the more common, probably by analogy with sentence adverbs such as ''fortunately''.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}