tutorial English · revision 39545

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing, derivation|attested=1742|origins=la tueor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˌtuˈtoɹiəl/, /ˌtuˈtɔɹiəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[der|la|tūtōrius|t=of a guardian]] with the suffix [[-al]].^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)^(Dictionary.com 2016) The Latin adjective comes from [[m|la|tūtor|t=guardian, protector]], the source of [[tutor]], a noun formed on the past participle of [[m|la|tueor|t=to watch over, look at]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of or relating to a legal guardian: 1742, according to Etymonline;^(Etymonline) the OED's first example is from Lord Kames in 1766, in Roman and Scots law,^(OED 2026) and the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English date the word to the early 18th century.^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective moved from guardians to teachers: "of a tutor or instructor", especially a college tutor, is recorded from Macaulay in 1822.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The noun, a period of instruction given by a university tutor to one student or a small group, appears in 1923, in George Saintsbury,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and remains a feature of British university teaching.^(Collins 2023) With computers it came to mean a printed account of a subject for study on one's own (1978),^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) or a program that teaches the use of software.^(AHD 2024) Since 1984 it has also meant a video showing how to carry out a task.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1742 – of a legal guardian.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1766 – the OED's first example, in Scots law.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1822 – of a teacher or tutor.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1923 – the noun, a tutor's teaching session.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1978 – an explanation of a subject for private study.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1984 – a video demonstration of a task.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A period of teaching by a [[tutor]] for one student or a small group, especially at a university.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A book, program, video or web page that teaches a skill or subject step by step: ''an online tutorial on editing photos''.^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of, relating to, or given by a tutor.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)

+ # (Roman law, Scots law) Of a legal [[guardian]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nontutorial]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tutor]]

+ * [[tuition]]

+ * [[intuition]]

+ * [[tutelage]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}