absolute English · revision 4571

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1374|origins=la absolvere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌæb.səˈluːt/, /ˈæb.səl.uːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|absolut]], [[bor|la|absolūtus|t=freed, unrestricted, complete]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) the past participle of absolvere “to set free, acquit, complete, make separate”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from ab “off, away” and solvere “to loosen, untie, release”,^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*lewh₁-|alt=*leu-|t=to loosen, divide]].^(Etymonline) It was partly influenced by Old French absolut (now absolu).^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) It is related to [[absolve]], [[solve]] and [[dissolve]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Free from imperfection, complete, perfect, and as a participle, absolved or detached: about 1374 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 1380 in Barnhart, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline suggests the sense moved from “detached, disengaged” to “perfect, pure”.^(Etymonline) “Not relative to anything else” is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) and the grammatical sense, as in the ablative absolute, from the late 14th century, after Greek usage.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Of degree, complete or utter, as in ''an absolute fool'', is from 1574.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) The sense “despotic, unlimited in power” is from the 1610s, from the idea of being absolute in position:^(Etymonline) ''absolute king'' is from the 1610s and ''absolute monarchy'' from 1735.^(Etymonline) In metaphysics, ''the absolute'' is from 1809.^(Etymonline) ''Absolute magnitude'' is from 1902 and ''absolute value'' from 1907.^(Etymonline) The earliest senses, absolved or detached, are obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1374 – perfect, complete; detached.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – in grammar.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – not relative.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1574 – complete, utter.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1610s – despotic, as in ''absolute king''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1735 – ''absolute monarchy''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1809 – noun, ''the absolute''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1902 – ''absolute magnitude''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Complete and total: ''absolute silence''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not limited or restricted: ''absolute power'', ''an absolute monarch''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Certain, definite and not to be doubted.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Existing independently and not in [[relation]] to anything else.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Standing apart from the rest of the sentence, as in the [[ablative absolute]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Pure and unmixed: ''absolute alcohol''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something that is absolute.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' ''the Absolute'', the ultimate basis of reality.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[absoluteness]]

+ * [[absolutism]]

+ * [[nonabsolute]]

+ * [[subabsolute]]

+ * [[absolute alcohol]]

+ * [[absolute altitude]]

+ * [[absolute ceiling]]

+ * [[absolute complement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[absolution]]

+ * [[absolutize]]

+ * [[absolve]]

+ * [[solve]]

+ * [[dissolve]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}