documentary English · revision 6083

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1802}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌdɒk.jəˈmen.tər.i/, US /ˌdɑː.kjəˈmen.t̬ɚ.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[document]] and the suffix [[-ary]];^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the film sense was probably borrowed from French [[m|fr|film documentaire]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of or consisting in documents: 1802–12 in the writings of Jeremy Bentham;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Etymonline dates it to 1788.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Affording evidence is a rare sense from 1843, and relating to teaching or instruction another, from 1871.^(OED 1989) Factual and realistic, of a film or book based on real events, is from 1926 in the OED,^(OED 1989) by 1921 in Etymonline, originally of film, after French film documentaire (by 1919).^(Etymonline) Barnhart dates the English film senses to 1930–32, after French film documentaire (1924) and the noun documentaire (1929).^(Barnhart 1988) The noun, short for documentary film, is attested by 1935,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and has spread to radio and television programmes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1802–12 – consisting of documents, in Bentham.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1843 – evidential.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1926 – factual, of a film.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1935 – the noun, a documentary film.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Consisting of, based on or relating to [[document|alt=documents]]: ''documentary evidence''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Presenting facts objectively, without fictional additions.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A film or radio or television programme presenting facts about a subject, often with real [[footage]] and interviews.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[documentarily]]

+ * [[undocumentary]]

+ * [[predocumentary]]

+ * [[nondocumentary]]

+ * [[docudrama]]

+ * [[documentarian]]

+ * [[documentarist]]

+ * [[docutainment]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[document]]

+ * [[doctor]]

+ * [[doctrine]]

+ * [[docile]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}