participant English · revision 39805

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a1470, Black Book of the Admiralty|origins=la participō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /pɑːˈtɪsɪpənt/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /pɑːɹˈtɪsəpənt/, /pəɹˈtɪsəpənt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It came partly [[bor|frm|participant]] and partly from its source [[la-lat|participāns|t=sharing; a sharer]], recorded in post-classical Latin from the 5th century,^(OED 2026) the present participle of [[m|la|participō|t=to share in, partake of]] used as an adjective and noun.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The verb was formed on [[m|la|particeps|t=sharing, partaking]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) a compound of [[m|la|pars|t=part]] and [[m|la|capiō|t=to take]].^(Klein 1966) The French word is recorded from 1321 in a phrase meaning to take part in, and as a noun in Cotgrave's dictionary of 1611.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, sharing or taking part in something: a1470, in the ''Black Book of the Admiralty''; this use is now rare.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Etymonline dates the adjective to the late 15th century and the Shorter Oxford to late Middle English.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun, a person who takes part in something or shares an experience with others, is recorded from 1543,^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) the date Merriam-Webster also gives;^(MWU 2024) Etymonline dates it to the 1560s and Dictionary.com to 1520–30.^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) For a time both adjective and noun were used more widely: the adjective for sharing the nature of something (c1485–1634), for being informed of a matter (1527–1862) and, rarely, for being generous (a1595);^(OED 2026) the noun for an associate, confederate or accomplice (1554–1796) and for a person told of some news (1639).^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Johnson (1755) recorded only the adjective, defined as sharing or having a part.^(Johnson 1755) In music the noun was used from 1889 for a note of a church mode lying between the mediant and the dominant or the final,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) and in the 20th century the word entered the language of the social sciences in ''participant observation'' and ''participant observer''.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1470 – adjective, sharing or taking part.^(OED 2026)

+ * c1485 – adjective, sharing the nature of something (until 1634).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1543 – noun, a person who takes part.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1554 – noun, an associate or accomplice (until 1796).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1889 – (music) a note in an ecclesiastical mode.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who takes part or shares in an [[activity]] or event: ''Every participant received a certificate at the end of the course.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (music) A note of a medieval church [[mode]] lying between the [[mediant]] and the [[dominant]] or the final.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # (now rare) Taking part; [[participate|alt=participating]] or sharing.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[participance]]

+ * [[participantly]]

+ * [[participant observation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[participate]]

+ * [[participle]]

+ * [[part]]

+ * [[capable]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}