utopia English · revision 2404

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /juːˈtəʊpiə/ ''(UK)''; /juˈtoʊpiə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-new|Ūtopia]], the name of an imaginary island in Sir Thomas More's ''Utopia'' (1516),^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) which More coined [[af|grc|οὐ|τόπος|tr1=ou|tr2=tópos|t1=not|t2=place]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Its literal meaning is therefore “nowhere”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The imaginary island described by More, enjoying a perfect social, legal and political system (in English from 1551).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ More's book was written in Latin and first translated into English in 1551.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) The name was extended to any imaginary, remote country by 1610^(OED 1989) and to any ideally perfect place or state by 1613.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) By the early 18th century it also meant an impossibly ideal scheme for social improvement.^(OED 1989)^(AHD) Although the name means “no place”, it is often taken to mean “good place”, as if from Greek ''eu-'' “good”, an idea reinforced by later coinages such as [[dystopia]].^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1551 – More's imaginary island.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1597 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1610 – any imaginary remote country.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1613 – an ideally perfect place or state.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1734 – an impossibly ideal scheme of reform.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An ideally perfect place or state, especially in its laws, government and society.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An impractical, idealistic scheme for social or political reform.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A work of fiction describing an ideal society.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dystopia]]

+ * [[utopian]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[topic]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}