creative English · revision 4311

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1678}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kriˈeɪ.tɪv/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|create|-ive]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) compare Old French creatif and Medieval Latin creativus.^(SOED 2002) It is related to [[creation]] and [[creature]].^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Having the quality of creating, given to creating”: 1678 in the OED and Merriam-Webster,^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) the 1670s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The Shorter Oxford dates it from the late 15th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Johnson in 1755 defined it as “having the power to create” and “exerting the act of creation”.^(Johnson 1755) Of literature and art, “imaginative, inventive”, it is from 1816, in Wordsworth,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and ''creative writing'' is from 1848.^(Etymonline) ''Creative evolution'' translates Bergson's L'Évolution créatrice (1907) and is from 1909.^(OED 1989) Of financial strategies, imaginative or ingenious, especially as in ''creative accounting'', it is from 1973.^(OED 1989) The noun, a creative person, especially one who makes advertisements, is from 1962 in Merriam-Webster,^(MW Collegiate) and creative material in advertising from 1938 in Merriam-Webster Unabridged.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1678 – able to create.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1755 – Johnson: “having the power to create”.^(Johnson 1755)

+ * 1816 – of art, imaginative.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1848 – ''creative writing''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1909 – ''creative evolution''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1962 – noun, a creative person.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1973 – of accounting.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having the ability or power to create.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Marked by [[originality]] and expressiveness; [[imaginative]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Productive; creating.^(AHD)

+ # Of accounting, inventive in a way that misleads.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who shows creative originality, especially one who designs advertisements.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[creatively]]

+ * [[creativeness]]

+ * [[uncreative]]

+ * [[creativity]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[create]]

+ * [[creation]]

+ * [[creationism]]

+ * [[creator]]

+ * [[creature]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}