Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of declare

declare(v.)

mid-14c., declaren, "explain, interpret, make clear;" late 14c., "make known by words, state explicitly, proclaim, announce," from Old French declarer "explain, elucidate," or directly from Latin declarare "make clear, reveal, disclose, announce," from de-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see de-) + clarare "to clarify," from clarus "clear" (see clear (adj.)).

From mid-15c. as "assert, affirm." Intransitive sense "make known one's thoughts or intentions" is by 1840. Related: Declared; declaring.

also from mid-14c.

Entries linking to declare

clear(adj.)

c. 1300, "giving light, shining, luminous;" also "not turbid; transparent, allowing light to pass through; free from impurities; morally pure, guiltless, innocent;" of colors, "bright, pure;" of weather or the sky or sea, "not stormy; mild, fair, not overcast, fully light, free from darkness or clouds;" of the eyes or vision, "clear, keen;" of the voice or sound, "plainly audible, distinct, resonant;" of the mind, "keen-witted, perspicacious;" of words or speech, "readily understood, manifest to the mind, lucid" (an Old English word for this was sweotol "distinct, clear, evident"); of land, "cleared, leveled;" from Old French cler "clear" (of sight and hearing), "light, bright, shining; sparse" (12c., Modern French clair), from Latin clarus "clear, loud," of sounds; figuratively "manifest, plain, evident," in transferred use, of sights, "bright, distinct;" also "illustrious, famous, glorious" (source of Italian chiaro, Spanish claro), from PIE *kle-ro-, from root *kele- (2) "to shout."

The prehistoric sense evolution to light and color involves an identification of the spreading of sound and the spreading of light (compare English loud, used of colors; German hell "clear, bright, shining," of pitch, "distinct, ringing, high").

Also in Middle English "beautiful, magnificent, excellent" (c. 1300); of possession or title, "unrestricted, unconditional, absolute," early 15c. Of complexion, from c. 1300. Sense of "free from encumbrance," later largely nautical, developed c. 1500. Meaning "obvious to the senses" is from 1835. Clear-sighted is from 1580s (clear-eyed is from 1520s); clear-headed is from 1709. For coast is clear see clear (v.).

undeclared(adj.)

"unstated, unexplained," mid-15c., from un- (1) "not" + past participle of declare (v.).

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trends of declare

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

adjudge

late 14c., ajuge, "to make a judicial decision, decide by judicial opinion," from Old French ajugier "to judge, pass judgment on" (Modern French adjuger; the -d- was restored 14c. and English followed suit by 16c.), from Latin adiudicare "grant or award as a judge," from ad "to"

hold

Middle English holden, earlier halden, from Old English haldan (Anglian), healdan (West Saxon), "to contain; to grasp; to retain (liquid, etc.); to observe, fulfill (a custom, etc.); to have as one's own; to have in mind (of opinions, etc.); to possess, control, rule; to detain,

announce

c. 1500, "proclaim, make known formally," from Old French anoncier "announce, proclaim" (12c., Modern French annoncer), from Latin annuntiare, adnuntiare "to announce, make known," literally "bring news to," from ad "to" (see ad-) + nuntiare "relate, report," from nuntius "messen

protest

mid-15c., protesten, "to declare or state formally or solemnly, bear witness or testimony to," from Old French protester...and directly from Latin protestari "declare publicly, testify, protest" (see protest (n.))....

profess

Medieval Latin professare, from professus "avowed," literally "having declared publicly," past participle of Latin profiteri "declare...The meaning "declare openly" is recorded from 1520s, "a direct borrowing of the sense from Latin" [Barnhart]....

diction

delivery, style," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin dicere "to say, state, proclaim, make known, allege, declare...The basic sense in both is "to talk, speak, declare."...seem to have divided, imperfectly, the secondary senses between them: dicere "to say, state, proclaim, make known, allege, declare...

pronounce

mid-14c., pronouncen, "to declare officially, proclaim, announce;" late 14c., "to speak, utter" (words, a language, etc.)..., "form or articulate with the organs of speech," from Old French prononcier "declare, speak out, pronounce" (late 13c.,...

swan

large, web-footed swimming bird, stately and graceful in the water, noted for its long neck and white down; Old English swan "swan," from Proto-Germanic *swanaz "singer" (source also of Old Saxon swan, Old Norse svanr, Danish svane, Swedish svan, Middle Dutch swane, Dutch zwaan,

opine

mid-15c., opinen, "express an opinion or opinions; to think, suppose," also transitive, "be of the opinion that," from Old French oppiner, opiner (15c.) and directly from Latin opinari "have an opinion, be of opinion, suppose, conjecture, think, judge," which is of unknown origin

exclaim

"to cry out, speak with vehemence, make a loud outcry in words," 1560s, a back-formation from exclamation or else from French exclamer (16c.), from Latin exclamare "cry out loud, call out," from ex "out," perhaps here an intensive prefix (see ex-), + clamare "cry, shout, call" (f

Share declare

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Trending

Dictionary entries near declare

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.