environment English · revision 2802

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1603|origins=fro viron}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪnˈvaɪ.rən.mənt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|environ|-ment]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from the verb environ “to surround”, which is [[inh|enm|environ]], [[bor|fro|environner]], from [[m|fro|environ|t=around]],^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) from [[m|fro|en-|t=in, around]] and [[m|fro|viron|t=circuit]], from [[m|fro|virer|t=to turn]], the source of [[veer]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The action of surrounding, the state of being surrounded: 1603 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 1600 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) the early 17th century in Word Origins and the SOED.^(Cresswell 2021)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word then meant the surroundings of a place, its environs,^(Cresswell 2021) the objects or region around something (1830).^(OED 1989) The conditions in which a person or thing lives or develops are by 1827, in Carlyle, who used it to render German Umgebung.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) The modern ecological sense, the natural world as affected by human activity, did not develop until the late 19th century in Word Origins' account,^(Cresswell 2021) and Etymonline first records the specialized ecology sense in 1956.^(Etymonline) In computing an environment is the structure within which a user or program works, from 1961.^(OED 1989) ''Environment-friendly'' is from 1982.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1603 – the state of being surrounded.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1827 – the conditions in which a person lives.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1830 – surroundings.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1956 – the ecological sense.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1961 – in computing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1982 – ''environment-friendly''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The circumstances or conditions that surround a person or thing; [[surroundings]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The natural world, especially as affected by human activity; the physical conditions that affect the growth and survival of living things.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The social and cultural conditions that influence a person or community.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(computing)'' The [[operating system]] or set of programs within which an application runs.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[environmental]]

+ * [[environmentally]]

+ * [[microenvironment]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[environ]]

+ * [[environmentalist]]

+ * [[environmentalism]]

+ * [[environs]]

+ * [[veer]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}