concentration English · revision 6740

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1634}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌkɒn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/ ''(UK)''; /ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from the verb [[concentrate]] and [[-ation]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) or, in MWU's analysis, from [[com-]], Latin [[m|la|centrum|t=centre]] and the same suffix.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The action of bringing things towards a common centre: 1634 in the OED and MWU,^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) the 1630s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A mass collected in this way is from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) The strengthening of a solution in chemistry is from 1790.^(OED 1989) The steady focusing of the mind is from 1825, in phrenology,^(Etymonline) before 1846 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The ''concentration camp'' is from 1901, at first a compound for non-combatants in a war zone during the Second Boer War, an idea controversial from the start.^(Etymonline) It was used in 1902 of US policy in the Philippines, and of Nazi German prisons for dissidents and minorities from 1934 and Soviet ones from 1935.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1634 – bringing to a centre.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1670s – a concentrated mass.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1790 – in chemistry.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1825 – mental concentration.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1901 – concentration camp.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Close, undivided [[attention]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The act of concentrating, or a dense gathering of things in one place.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The amount of a substance in a given volume of a [[solution]] or mixture.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hemoconcentration]]

+ * [[hyperconcentration]]

+ * [[mascon]]

+ * [[nonconcentration]]

+ * [[overconcentration]]

+ * [[preconcentration]]

+ * [[reconcentration]]

+ * [[concentration cell]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[concentrate]]

+ * [[centre]]

+ * [[concentric]]

+ * [[concentration camp]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}