identical English · revision 6352

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1581|origins=la idem}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪˈdɛntɪkl̩/, /aɪˈdɛntɪkl̩/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably formed from [[la-med|identicus|t=the same]] and [[-al]],^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[m|la-lat|identitās|t=sameness]] (see [[identity]]), from [[m|la|idem|t=the same]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It replaced Middle English idemptical (about 1475).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In logic, expressing an identity: 1620 in Barnhart, the 1610s in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) MWU dates the sense ''being the same'' from 1581, and SOED and NODE the late 16th century.^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Being the same or very similar in general is first recorded before 1633.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Agreeing exactly in all properties is from 1677.^(OED 1989) In geometry, of figures equal and similar, it is from 1806.^(OED 1989) ''Identical twins'', from a single fertilized egg, are from 1889.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1475 – idemptical.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1620 – in logic.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1633 – the very same.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1677 – exactly alike.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1889 – identical twins.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Exactly alike or equal in every detail.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Being the very same: ''the identical room we stayed in''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of twins, developed from a single fertilized egg.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[identically]]

+ * [[identicalness]]

+ * [[unidentical]]

+ * [[self-identical]]

+ * [[nonidentical]]

+ * [[identical twin]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[identify]]

+ * [[identity]]

+ * [[idem]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}