detective English · revision 6348

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1843}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɪˈtektɪv/, /dəˈtektɪv/ ''(UK)''; /dɪˈtektɪv/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[detect]] and [[-ive]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(NODE 1998) on the pattern of elect, elective.^(SOED 2002)^(NODE 1998) The noun is short for “detective police” or “detective policeman”.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, serving to detect: 1843 in the OED;^(OED 1989) the noun, a police officer who investigates crimes, from 1828 in Etymonline, the 1840s in Word Origins and 1850 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989) MWU dates the adjective from 1732 and the noun from 1849.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Word Origins notes that the word was formed when the organized police force needed one, and that Dickens reported in ''Household Words'' (1850) on the officers called detectives.^(Cresswell 2021) The Century Dictionary (1897) explains that a detective has no fixed beat and wears no uniform.^(Etymonline) A private investigator is a private detective,^(Collins 2023) and the ''detective story'' follows.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1828 – detective police (Etymonline).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1843 – the adjective.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1850 – the noun, in Dickens's Household Words.^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A police officer whose job is to investigate crimes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person hired to make inquiries; a private [[investigator]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to detection or detectives: ''a detective novel''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[detectivelike]]

+ * [[house detective]]

+ * [[private detective]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[detect]]

+ * [[detection]]

+ * [[detector]]

+ * [[sleuth]]

+ * [[investigator]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}