deliberate English · revision 39379

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=?a1425, translation of Guy de Chauliac|origins=la lībra}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Adjective, UK: /dɪˈlɪb.(ə.)ɹət/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Adjective, US: /dɪˈlɪb.ɚ.ət/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Verb, UK: /dɪˈlɪb.ə.ɹeɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Verb, US: /dɪˈlɪb.ə.ɹeɪt/, /dɪˈlɪb.ɚ.eɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is [[bor|la|dēlīberātus|t=resolved upon, determined]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) the past participle of [[m|la|dēlīberō|t=to weigh well, consider carefully, consult]];^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the verb, from the 1530s, is from the stem of the same participle.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) The Latin verb is formed with [[m|la|dē-]], here probably meaning "entirely",^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|lībrō|t=to balance, weigh]], altered probably under the influence of [[m|la|līberō|t=to free]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) and that verb is from [[m|la|lībra|t=scales, balance]].^(AHD 2024)^(Chambers 2014) Barnhart calls the origin of the Latin noun uncertain.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of a person, acting after careful thought; measured: ?a1425, in an English translation of Guy de Chauliac's surgery.^(OED 2026) Barnhart dates the adjective to probably before 1425.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins notes, the adjective is medieval and the verb, pronounced slightly differently, came in the mid 16th century.^(Cresswell 2021) The adjective soon applied to actions as well as people, meaning carefully considered (?1527), and later especially done on purpose, as of a lie or an insult.^(OED 2026) A Scottish sense "resolved, determined" lasted from 1515 to 1626, and the meaning "slow and steady, unhurried" appears in 1575 in a book on falconry.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) still defined it as "circumspect, wary" and "slow; not sudden".^(Johnson 1755) The verb was used first of councils that weighed and discussed a proposal (1536), and soon of a single person thinking something over (1538).^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the meaning "weigh in the mind" to the 1540s and "discuss the reasons for and against" to the 1550s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * ?a1425 – adjective, of a person: acting after careful thought.^(OED 2026)

+ * ?1527 – of an action: carefully considered.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1536 – verb: of a council, to consider and discuss.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1538 – verb: to think carefully, to ponder.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1575 – adjective: slow and steady.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1755 – Johnson: circumspect, wary; slow, not sudden.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Done on purpose; [[intentional]].^(Collins 2023)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Carefully thought out; not [[hasty]] or [[rash]].^(MWU 2024)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Careful and unhurried in speech or movement.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To think about something carefully before deciding.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Of a group, to discuss a matter before reaching a decision: ''The committee deliberated for two days.''^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[deliberately]]

+ * [[deliberateness]]

+ * [[deliberator]]

+ * [[indeliberate]]

+ * [[nondeliberate]]

+ * [[overdeliberate]]

+ * [[predeliberate]]

+ * [[undeliberate]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[deliberation]]

+ * [[deliberative]]

+ * [[libra]]

+ * [[equilibrium]]

+ * [[liberate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}