inconsistent English · revision 39653

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1646, T. Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˌɪnkənˈsɪstənt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed [[af|en|in-|consistent]] in English, with the negative prefix meaning "not".^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) The OED compares [[m|fr|inconsistant]].^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) explained it the same way.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of one thing compared with another, not agreeing with it in substance, spirit or form; at variance, incompatible, usually followed by ''with'': 1646, in Sir Thomas Browne's ''Pseudodoxia Epidemica''.^(OED 2026) Merriam-Webster gives 1620 and Dictionary.com 1640–50;^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) Etymonline dates "not agreeing in substance or form" to the 1640s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of two or more things in relation to each other it is recorded from 1656,^(OED 2026) and of a single thing that contradicts itself from 1651, in Richard Baxter;^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the sense "self-contradictory" to the 1650s.^(Etymonline) It was applied to people who act against their own principles or earlier behaviour from 1709.^(OED 2026) A rare sense "without firmness or consistence", of a substance, is recorded from 1677 and is now archaic.^(OED 2026) From 1690 there was also a church use, of a benefice that could not be held together with a fellowship.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it as incompatible, unsuitable or incongruous.^(Johnson 1755) The technical senses in mathematics, of equations with no common solution, and in logic, of propositions from which a contradiction can be derived, are recorded in modern dictionaries.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1620 – Merriam-Webster's first date.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1646 – at variance or incompatible with something.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1651 – self-contradictory.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1652 – noun, inconsistent things.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1656 – of two or more things, incompatible with each other.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1677 – of a substance, without firmness (rare).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1709 – of a person, not consistent in thought or action.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not in [[agreement]] or harmony with something; [[incompatible]], at variance, usually followed by ''with'': ''The evidence was inconsistent with his story.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # Containing parts that [[contradict]] each other; self-contradictory.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Not staying the same in quality, behaviour or mood; [[erratic]] or [[fickle]]: ''The team's form has been inconsistent all season.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (mathematics) Of equations, having no common set of values that satisfies them all.^(Collins 2023)

+ # (logic) Of a set of propositions, allowing a contradiction to be validly derived from them.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[inconsistently]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[inconsistency]]

+ * [[consistent]]

+ * [[incongruous]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Dictionary.com distinguishes ''inconsistent'', ''incompatible'' and ''incongruous'': ''inconsistent'' implies a discrepancy or contradiction, especially in terms of truth, reason or logic.^(Dictionary.com 2016) In Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire dialect ''inconsistent'' meant reprehensible, and in southern Worcestershire ''to be inconsistent'' meant to have a child before marriage.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}