consistent English · revision 5033

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1570s|origins=la consistere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kənˈsɪs.tənt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|cōnsistēns|alt=cōnsistentem]], the present participle of cōnsistere “to stand firm, take a position, stop”,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[con-]] “together” and sistere “to place”,^(Etymonline) a causative of stāre “to stand”,^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*steh₂-|alt=*sta-|t=to stand]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[consist]] and [[consistency]].^(NODE 1998)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Consisting or composed of, a sense now obsolete: the 1570s in Etymonline, 1578 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Consistent age'', the age when growth has stopped, is from 1574.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Standing still or firm is from 1604,^(OED 1989) remaining in the same state from 1647,^(OED 1989) and of a material, holding together, firm, from 1647, a physical sense that survives in ''consistency''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Standing together in agreement, compatible, is from the 1640s (1646 in the OED), and 1638 in MWU;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) being in agreement with itself, coherent, is from 1651,^(OED 1989) and marked by consistency, steady, from 1732.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1574 – ''consistent age''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1578 – consisting of (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1604 – standing firm.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1646 – in agreement with.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1732 – steady, uniform.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Always behaving or happening in the same way; [[reliable]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # In agreement with something; [[compatible]]: ''consistent with the facts''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Without parts that contradict each other.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[consistently]]

+ * [[self-consistent]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[consist]]

+ * [[consistence]]

+ * [[consistency]]

+ * [[inconsistent]]

+ * [[insist]]

+ * [[persist]]

+ * [[stand]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}