definition English · revision 4373

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1382|origins=la definire}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌdef.ɪˈnɪʃ.ən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|diffinicioun]], definicion,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|definicion]], or directly from [[la|dēfīnītiō|alt=definitionem|t=a bounding; a limiting, prescribing; a definition, explanation]],^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) the last sense mostly in Cicero,^(Etymonline) a noun of action from dēfīnīre “to set bounds to, determine, explain”,^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)^(MWU 2024) from de- “completely” and finire “to bound, limit”, from finis “boundary, end”.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[define]], [[finish]] and [[finite]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The determining of a question at issue, a decision: 1382 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Etymonline gives the late 14th century for decision, the setting of boundaries and the statement of the meaning of a word.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The setting of limits, a restriction, is from about 1386, now obsolete.^(OED 1989) A precise statement of the essential nature of a thing is from 1398,^(OED 1989) and of the meaning of a word or phrase from perhaps before 1500.^(OED 1989) In logic, the act of stating what something means is from the 1640s,^(Etymonline) 1645 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The action of making definite, distinctness, is from 1859,^(OED 1989) and the distinctness of detail in a photograph or television picture from 1889.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1382 – a decision.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1386 – a limitation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1398 – a statement of a thing's nature.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1500 – the meaning of a word.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1645 – in logic.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1889 – the sharpness of a picture.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A statement of the [[meaning]] of a word or phrase, as in a [[dictionary]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A statement of the essential nature of something.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The act of defining.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Clearness of outline or detail, as of an image or sound.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''by definition'': by its very nature.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[definitional]]

+ * [[definitionally]]

+ * [[redefinition]]

+ * [[high-definition]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[define]]

+ * [[definiendum]]

+ * [[definiens]]

+ * [[definite]]

+ * [[definitive]]

+ * [[finish]]

+ * [[finite]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}