determine
English Edit
Alternative forms Edit
- determin (obsolete)
Etymology Edit
From Middle English determinen, from Old French determiner, French déterminer, from Latin determināre (“to bound, limit, prescribe, fix, determine”), from de + termināre (“to limit”), from terminus (“bound, limit, end”).
Pronunciation Edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /dɪˈtɜːmɪn/
- (US) IPA(key): /dɪˈtɝmɪn/
Audio (CA) (file) Audio (UK) (file) Audio (US) (file)
Verb Edit
determine (third-person singular simple present determines, present participle determining, simple past and past participle determined)
- To set the boundaries or limits of.
- 1611, Bible, KJV edition, Acts 17:26:
- [God] hath determined the times before appointed.
- 1844, Francis Bacon, The Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England:
- The knowledge of men hitherto hath been determined by the view or sight.
- To ascertain definitely; to figure out, find out, or conclude by analyzing, calculating, or investigating.
- 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.
- To fix the form or character of; to shape; to prescribe imperatively; to regulate; to settle.
- 1741 July 8, Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God:
- The character of the soul is determined by the character of its God.
- 1913, W. Black, 1913 Webster's Dictionary:
- something divinely beautiful […] that at some time or other might influence or even determine her course of life
- 1976, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift, New York: Avon, →ISBN, page 259:
- These dramas may appear purely internal but they are perhaps economically determined … when people think they are being so subtly inventive or creative they merely reflect society's general need for economic growth.
- To fix the course of; to impel and direct; with a remoter object preceded by to.
- The news of his father's illness determined him to depart immediately.
- To bring to a conclusion, as a question or controversy; to settle authoritative or judicial sentence; to decide.
- The court has determined the cause.
- To resolve (to do something); to establish a fixed intention; to cause (something) to come to a conclusion or decision; to lead.
- I determined to go home at once.
- (logic) To define or limit by adding a differentia.
- (law, otherwise obsolete) To bring to an end; to finish.
- 2021, HM Land Registry, Practice guide 26: leases – determination[1], archived from the original on 4 October 2021:
- If a lease is determined by notice, forfeiture or frustration, all incumbrances will normally end automatically with the determination of the lease and can therefore be ignored.
- c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2, act 4, scene 5:
- Now, where is he that will not stay so long / Till his friend sickness hath determined me?
Derived terms Edit
Translations Edit
to set the limits of
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to ascertain definitely
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Further reading Edit
- “determine”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “determine”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “determine”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- "determine" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 98.
Anagrams Edit
Galician Edit
Verb Edit
determine
Ladin Edit
Verb Edit
determine
Portuguese Edit
Verb Edit
determine
- inflection of determinar:
Romanian Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Verb Edit
determine
Spanish Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Verb Edit
determine
- inflection of determinar: