action English · revision 3595

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1338|origins=la agere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|accioun]], [[bor|xno|accioun]] and [[m|fro|action|t=action; lawsuit]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) a learned borrowing from [[la|āctiō|t=a putting in motion, doing; public acts; lawsuit]] (accusative [[m|la|āctiōnem]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) a noun of action from the past participle stem of [[m|la|agere|t=to drive, do]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*ag-|t=to drive, draw out, move]].^(Etymonline) The spelling with the Latin -t- was restored in the 15th century.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[act]], [[active]] and [[agent]].^(Klein 1966)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Barnhart dates the word to before 1338.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline's first sense, from the mid-14th century, is legal: the cause or grounds for a lawsuit.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The force of one body upon another is recorded from about 1360,^(OED 1989) and active exertion in general from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The OED's first example of action as distinct from thought or passion is from 1393.^(OED 1989) “Something done, a deed” is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Military fighting is ''action'' from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and a battle from 1579.^(HTOED) In oratory, gesture was ''action'' from 1579.^(HTOED) The way a firearm or other mechanism works is from 1845,^(Etymonline) and in the same year the proverb ''actions speak louder than words'' is recorded.^(OED 1989) As a film director's command, ''action!'' is from 1923.^(Etymonline) The slang sense “exciting or important activity”, as in ''a piece of the action'', is from 1933.^(OED 1989) The verb meant “to sue” from 1733,^(OED 1989) and “to take action on, put into effect” in office use from 1962.^(OED 1989) ''Actionable'' is from 1591.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1338 – first record.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-14th century – grounds for a lawsuit.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1360 – the influence of one body on another.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – a deed; activity.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1579 – a battle; oratorical gesture.^(HTOED)

+ * 1591 – ''actionable''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1733 – verb, to sue.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1845 – the working of a mechanism.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1923 – ''action!'' on a film set.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1933 – noteworthy activity.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1962 – verb, to put into effect.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The state or process of acting or doing.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A [[deed]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A movement or series of movements.^(AHD)

+ # Vigorous activity or energy.^(AHD)

+ # The working parts of a mechanism, such as a gun or piano, and the way they work.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(law)'' A [[lawsuit]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Armed fighting; a [[battle]].^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(slang)'' Exciting or important activity.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take action on; to put into effect.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[actionless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[act]]

+ * [[agent]]

+ * [[agency]]

+ * [[active]]

+ * [[activity]]

+ * [[agenda]]

+ * [[actionable]]

+ * [[transaction]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}