function English · revision 2953

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1533|origins=la fungor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfʌŋk.ʃᵊn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|fonction]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) and directly [[der|la|fūnctiō|t=performance, execution]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|fūnctus]], past participle of [[m|la|fungī|t=to perform, discharge]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*bhung-|t=to be of use]],^(Etymonline) perhaps related to Sanskrit bhuṅkte “he enjoys”.^(MWU 2024) The verb is from the noun.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One's proper work or purpose: 1533, in Thomas More's ''Confutation of Barnes''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The activity proper to a bodily organ is from 1590,^(OED 1989) and to the intellectual and moral powers from 1604.^(OED 1989) An official ceremony is from the 1630s, at first in church use,^(Etymonline) and later a formal social gathering.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986) In mathematics, a quantity that varies with another, Leibniz began the use in 1692, and it is found in English in the 18th century.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Function word'', in grammar, is from 1940,^(OED 1989) and the computing sense from 1947.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb, “to perform a function”, is from 1844 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and 1856 in the OED and Merriam-Webster.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) ''Functional'' is from 1631,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''functionary'' from 1791, in Burke, after French fonctionnaire.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1533 – proper work or purpose.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590 – the activity of a bodily organ.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1630s – an official ceremony.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1692 – in mathematics, in Leibniz.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1844 – verb, to perform a function.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1940 – ''function word''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1947 – in computing.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The purpose or activity for which a thing exists or a person is employed.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An assigned duty or [[role]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A formal social gathering or official [[ceremony]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A relation in which each value of one [[variable]] corresponds to exactly one value of another.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something that depends on and varies with something else: ''price is a function of demand''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(computing)'' A routine or operation performed by a program.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To work or operate; to serve as.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[functionless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[functor]]

+ * [[fungible]]

+ * [[functional]]

+ * [[dysfunction]]

+ * [[functionary]]

+ * [[defunct]]

+ * [[perfunctory]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary groups ''function'' with ''duty'', ''office'' and ''role'', all meaning the activities expected of a person, and ''function'' is the most general of them.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}