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Origin and history of equivocal

equivocal(adj.)

"of doubtful signification, capable of being understood in different senses," c. 1600, with -al (1) + Late Latin aequivocus "of identical sound, of equal voice, of equal significance, ambiguous, of like sound," past participle of aequivocare. This is from aequus "equal" (see equal (adj.)) + vocare "to call," which is related to vox (genitive vocis) "voice" (from PIE root *wekw- "to speak").

Earlier in same sense was equivoque (late 14c.). Its opposite is univocal. Related: Equivocally (1570s).

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to equivocal

equal(adj.)

late 14c., "identical in amount, extent, or portion;" early 15c., "even or smooth of surface," from Latin aequalis "uniform, identical, equal," from aequus "level, even, flat; as tall as, on a level with; friendly, kind, just, fair, equitable, impartial; proportionate; calm, tranquil," which is of unknown origin. Parallel formation egal (from Old French egal) was in use late 14c.-17c. Equal rights is from 1752; by 1854 in American English in reference to men and women. Equal opportunity (adj.) in terms of hiring, etc. is recorded by 1925.

univocal(adj.)

1540s, "having one meaning only," from Latin univocus, from uni- (see uni-) + vox "voice, sound, utterance" (from PIE root *wekw- "to speak"). Opposed to equivocal. Related: Univocally; univocality.

An adjective univocate (early 15c., now obsolete) meant "having the same sound, pronounced the same," from Medieval Latin univocatus, past participle of univocare.

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ambiguous
"of doubtful or uncertain nature, open to various interpretations," 1520s, from Latin ambiguus "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful," an adjective derived from ambigere "to dispute about, contend, debate," literally "to wander, go about, go around," figuratively
straddle
U.S. colloquial figurative sense of "take up an equivocal position, appear to favor both sides" is attested from 1838....
demi-monde
also demimonde, "women of equivocal reputation and standing in society," 1855, from French demi-monde "so-so society," literally...
twitterpated
1942, apparently first attested in the Walt Disney movie "Bambi" (there also was a song by that name but it was not in the studio release of the film), a past-participle adjective formed from twitter in the "tremulous excitement" noun sense (1670s) + pate (n.2) "head" (compare fl
yield
Old English gieldan (West Saxon), geldan (Anglian) "to pay, pay for; reward, render; worship, serve, sacrifice to" (class III strong verb; past tense geald, past participle golden), from Proto-Germanic *geldan "pay" (source also of Old Saxon geldan "to be worth," Old Norse gjaldo
tradition
late 14c., "statement, belief, or practice handed down from generation to generation," especially "belief or practice based on Mosaic law," from Old French tradicion "transmission, presentation, handing over" (late 13c.) and directly from Latin traditionem (nominative traditio) "
dispense
mid-14c., dispensen, "to dispose of, deal or divide out," from Old French dispenser "give out" (13c.), from Latin dispensare "disburse, administer, distribute (by weight)," frequentative of dispendere "pay out," from dis- "out" (see dis-) + pendere "to hang, cause to hang; weigh;
alien
c. 1300, "strange, foreign," from Old French alien "strange, foreign;" as a noun, "an alien, stranger, foreigner," from Latin alienus "of or belonging to another, not one's own, foreign, strange," also, as a noun, "a stranger, foreigner," adjective from alius (adv.) "another, oth
trust
c. 1200, "reliance on the veracity, integrity, or other virtues of someone or something; religious faith," from Old Norse traust "help, confidence, protection, support," from Proto-Germanic abstract noun *traustam (source also of Old Frisian trast, Dutch troost "comfort, consolat
amethyst
violet-colored quartz, late 13c., amatist, from Old French ametiste (12c., Modern French améthyste) and directly from Medieval Latin amatistus, from Latin amethystus, from Greek amethystos "amethyst," noun use of an adjective meaning "not intoxicating; not drunken," from a- "not"

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