Etymograph

English

means

Means comes from English mean ‘method or course of action used to achieve some result’.

  1. English1500–presentmean1‘method or course of action used to achieve some result’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1622means1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English means
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1622, Francis Bacon: “And by this means also he had them the…”.

Lineage

  1. English1500–presentmeanWiktionary, English means‘method or course of action used to achieve some result’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1622meansWiktionary, English means. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1622, Francis Bacon: “And by this means also he had them the…”

Every English word from English mean

Today it means

noun An instrument or condition to achieve a result.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “means”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / English mean / means

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