modification English · revision 39674

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1492, Acts of Lords of Council|origins=la modus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˌmɒdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˌmɑdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is partly [[bor|frm|modification]] and partly [[bor|la|modificātiō|t=bringing to order, regulation; a measuring]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) a noun of action from [[m|la|modificō|t=to measure, limit, moderate]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) which is formed from [[m|la|modus|t=measure, manner]] and the combining form of [[m|la|faciō|t=to make]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline traces ''modus'' to the Indo-European root [[ine-pro|*med-|t=to take appropriate measures]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) The OED notes that the French noun is found in Anglo-Norman from the late 13th century, in the sense "condition, proviso",^(OED 2026) and the Anglo-Norman Dictionary records [[m|xno|modificacion]], alteration or change, from 1360.^(AND) In post-classical Latin ''modificātiō'' also meant adjustment or qualification.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Scots law, the assessing and fixing of a legal payment, penalty, price or valuation: 1492, in the Acts of the Lords of Council in civil cases.^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010) The Shorter Oxford notes its historical use for fixing a parish minister's stipend.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In philosophy from 1502 the word meant the bringing of something into a particular mode of existence,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) a sense that reflects the Latin ''modus'' as "manner, mode".^(Hoad 1986) From 1603, in John Florio's translation of Montaigne, it meant the limiting or qualifying of a statement,^(OED 2026) and Merriam-Webster gives 1603 as its first date.^(MWU 2024) In grammar it has named the qualifying of one word by another since 1668.^(OED 2026) The result of altering something, a modified form, is recorded from 1669,^(OED 2026) the 1660s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and the now usual sense, the act of making partial changes to something without changing its basic nature, from 1775, in Edmund Burke.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Hoad dates the verb ''modify'' in the sense "change partially" to the 18th century as well.^(Hoad 1986) Later technical senses include umlaut in phonetics (1845) and a non-inherited change in an organism caused by its environment (1875).^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1492 – in Scots law, the assessing of a payment or penalty.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1502 – in philosophy, the bringing of a thing into a particular mode of existence.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1603 – the qualifying or limiting of a statement.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1668 – in grammar, the qualifying of the sense of a word by another.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1669 – the result of a change; a modified form.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1775 – a partial alteration, or the act of making one.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1845 – in phonetics, umlaut.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1875 – in biology, a non-heritable change produced by the environment.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or process of [[modify|alt=modifying]] something, changing it partly without altering its basic nature.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A small [[change]] or [[adjustment]]; something that has been modified: ''After a few modifications, the engine ran smoothly.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (grammar) The [[qualification]] or limiting of the meaning of a word or phrase by a [[modifier]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (biology) A change in an [[organism]] caused by its [[environment]] and not passed on to its offspring.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[modificator]]

+ * [[overmodification]]

+ * [[premodification]]

+ * [[remodification]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[modify]]

+ * [[modifier]]

+ * [[mode]]

+ * [[modest]]

+ * [[moderate]]

+ * [[modulate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}