mutual English · revision 6709

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1477|origins=la mutuus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmjuːt͡ʃuəl/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|mutuel]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|mutuus|t=lent, borrowed; reciprocal]], related to [[m|la|muto|alt=mūtāre|t=to change, exchange]] (see [[mutate]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from PIE [[ine-pro|*mey-|alt=*mei-|t=to change, go, move]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Felt or done by each towards the other, originally of feelings: 1477 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the late 15th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Barnhart dates it 1539, in a letter attributed to Thomas Cromwell.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense ''common to two or more'', as in ''our mutual friend'', is from the 1630s;^(Etymonline) the Century Dictionary called it loose and improper though used by many good writers, and Etymonline quotes a 1904 book of synonyms that blames it on the correct phrase ''mutual friendship''.^(Etymonline) Dickens used it as the title of ''Our Mutual Friend''.^(AHD) The ''mutual admiration society'' (1851) seems to have been coined by Thoreau.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Mutual insurance and the ''mutual fund'' (1950) follow,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and ''mutual assured destruction'' is from 1966.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1477 – reciprocal.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1630s – held in common.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1851 – mutual admiration society.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1950 – mutual fund.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1966 – mutual assured destruction.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Felt or done by each of two or more parties towards the other; [[reciprocal]]: ''mutual respect''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Shared by two or more people; [[common]]: ''a mutual friend''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a company or insurance scheme, owned by its members, who share the profits.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[mutual fund]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mutuality]]

+ * [[mutually]]

+ * [[mutualize]]

+ * [[nonmutual]]

+ * [[transmutual]]

+ * [[unmutual]]

+ * [[mutual assured destruction]]

+ * [[mutual inductance]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mutate]]

+ * [[mutation]]

+ * [[commute]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The AHD finds ''mutual'' in the sense ''reciprocal'' uncontroversial, and notes that ''common'' is the more usual word for something shared, though ''mutual friend'' and ''mutual interests'' are well established.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}