instrumentality
/ˌɪnstɹəmenˈtælɪti/in-struh-men-TA-lih-tee
/ˌɪnstɹəmɛnˈtælɪti/in-struh-men-TA-lih-tee
Meaningthe state or quality of serving as a tool
Common meaning: being instrumental
- instrumenta tool, gearSkeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), p. 296 · scan
- aladjective ending: relating to
- itynoun ending: being so, the quality of
Journey through time
- Proto-Indo-European*star-‘strew, spread out’source
- Latininstrumentumsource
- Middle Englishinstrumentsource
- Englishinstrument‘a tool’
- Englishformed in English from instrumentinstrumental‘relating to instrument’
- Englishformed in English from instrumentalinstrumentality‘being instrumental’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: the state or quality of serving as a tool. It can be inferred from any of: instrumental.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from instrumental + -ity (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Source words
- instrumentum Latin · source word “a tool, gear”
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