statement English · revision 3172

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1702}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|state|-ment]], from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Something stated: Merriam-Webster gives 1702 as the first known use, for the sense of stating or presenting;^(MWU 2024) Etymonline finds “what is stated, a formal account of facts or opinions” in 1767, apparently first of the reports of the East India Company,^(Etymonline) and the OED has “something stated” from 1775.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “The action of stating” is from 1789.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A written or oral account setting out facts or demands is from 1787.^(OED 1989) In commerce a ''statement'', more fully a ''statement of account'', a document listing debits and credits, is by 1885.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In music the presentation of a theme is from 1883,^(OED 1989) and in computing an instruction in a program is from 1957.^(OED 1989) In Britain a verb ''statement'', “to give (a child) a statement of special educational needs”, is a late 20th-century back-formation from statementing.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1702 – first known use, per Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1767 – a formal account of facts or opinions.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1775 – something stated.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1789 – the action of stating.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1883 – in music, the presentation of a theme.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1885 – a statement of account.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1957 – an instruction in a computer program.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something stated; a [[declaration]] or remark.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The act of stating something.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An official account of facts or views, such as one issued to the [[press]] or given by a [[witness]].^(NODE 1998)

+ # A record of the [[transaction|alt=transactions]] in a financial account over a period.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(computing)'' An instruction in a program.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(music)'' The presentation of a [[theme]] in a composition.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ # A message conveyed indirectly, without words: ''a fashion statement''.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(British)'' To assess (a child) as having special educational needs.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[counterstatement]]

+ * [[nonstatement]]

+ * [[restatement]]

+ * [[understatement]]

+ * [[bank statement]]

+ * [[income statement]]

+ * [[proxy statement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[state]]

+ * [[statesman]]

+ * [[status]]

+ * [[station]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}