process English · revision 2526

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1330|origins=la prōcēdere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈprəʊ.ses/, US /ˈprɑː.ses/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|proces]], [[bor|fro|proces|t=journey; development; legal trial]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) and directly from [[la|prōcessus|t=a going forward, advance, progress]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from the past participle stem of [[m|la|prōcēdere|t=to go forward]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) the source of [[proceed]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) The verb “to sue” is from [[frm|processer|t=to prosecute]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The fact of going on or being carried on, as in the phrase ''in process'': about 1330^(OED 1989) or the early 14th century.^(Etymonline) Barnhart finds the sense “content of a discourse, subject matter” before 1338, in Mannyng's ''Chronicle''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Lapse of time (''in process of time'') is recorded from about 1340,^(OED 1989) and something that goes on, a continuous action or series of actions, from 1340.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The legal sense, the whole course of proceedings in a suit, is from the early 14th century^(Etymonline) or about 1350,^(Barnhart 1988) and a summons or writ is a ''process'' from 1423.^(HTOED) A projection, especially a natural outgrowth of a bone, is from 1565.^(HTOED)^(Etymonline) The main modern sense, a regular series of actions meant to bring about a result, is from the 1620s,^(Etymonline) or 1627 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb meant “to begin legal action against” from 1532,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and “to treat by a special process” from 1881^(Etymonline) or 1884,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) later used of food and of data.^(SOED 2002) Of persons, “to register and examine”, it is from 1935, in the US Army.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1330 – the fact of going on.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1338 – the content of a discourse (Mannyng).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1340 – the course of time.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1340 – a continuous series of actions.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1350 – legal proceedings.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1423 – a summons or writ.^(HTOED)

+ * 1532 – verb, to sue.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1565 – a projection of a bone.^(HTOED)

+ * 1627 – a series of steps toward a result.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1884 – verb, to treat by a process.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1935 – verb, to process a person.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A series of actions, changes or functions that bring about a result.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A series of operations used in making or treating a product.^(AHD)

+ # Progress or course: ''in process of time''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(law)'' The whole course of a judicial proceeding; a [[summons]] or [[writ]].^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(biology)'' A natural outgrowth or projection, as on a bone.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put through a set procedure.^(AHD)

+ # To prepare, treat or convert by a special process: ''processed food''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To perform operations on [[data]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(law)'' To serve with a summons, or to [[prosecute]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bioprocess]]

+ * [[overprocess]]

+ * [[preprocess]]

+ * [[processable]]

+ * [[processible]]

+ * [[reprocess]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[proceed]]

+ * [[procedure]]

+ * [[procession]]

+ * [[processor]]

+ * [[due process]]

+ * [[cede]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary notes a recent tendency to pronounce the plural ''processes'' with a final “-eez”, as if the word were Greek like ''analysis'', which has no etymological justification.^(AHD) A separate verb ''process'', stressed on the second syllable, “to go in procession”, is a colloquial back-formation from ''procession'' recorded from 1814.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}