frequency English · revision 5686

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1553–87|origins=la frequentia}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈfɹiːkwənsi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|frequentia|t=an assembling in great numbers, a crowd]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|frequēns|t=crowded, frequent]] (see [[frequent]]).^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) It gradually replaced Middle English frequence.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The state of being crowded, or a crowd: 1553–87 in the OED, the 1550s in Etymonline; the sense is obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) MWU dates its first sense to 1600.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Constant use or repetition is from 1615, and constant attendance or familiarity from 1642, both obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) The fact of occurring often is from 1641, the 1640s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In physics, the rate of recurrence of a regular event such as a vibration is from 1831,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and in statistics the number of times something occurs in a sample from 1854.^(OED 1989) ''Frequency modulation'', FM, is from 1922, distinguished from amplitude modulation (AM),^(Etymonline) and the particular frequency at which a radio station broadcasts is a later use.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1553–87 – crowdedness.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1641 – frequent occurrence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1831 – rate of recurrence (physics).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1854 – in statistics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1922 – ''frequency modulation''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The rate at which something happens or is repeated over a period of time.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The fact of happening often.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(physics)'' The number of cycles of a [[wave]] or [[vibration]] per second.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The particular frequency of a [[radio]] signal or station.^(AHD)

+ # ''(statistics)'' The number of times a value occurs in a sample.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gyrofrequency]]

+ * [[infrequency]]

+ * [[overfrequency]]

+ * [[underfrequency]]

+ * [[angular frequency]]

+ * [[audio frequency]]

+ * [[extremely low frequency]]

+ * [[frequency band]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[frequent]]

+ * [[frequentative]]

+ * [[frequently]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}