Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Active in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels active as adjective. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adjective
Active

[F. actif, L. activus, fr. agere to act.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordactive
Part of speechadjective
Historical etymology[F. actif, L. activus, fr. agere to act.]
Selected historical definitionHaving the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting; -- opposed to passive, that receives; as, certain active principles; the powers of the mind.
Signed record IDwebster1913-active-adjective-cd2b20bb4d2a
Source locatorCIDE.A, paragraph 2468; Gutenberg eBook 660
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 660Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "active" is labeled adjective. Its etymology is recorded as: "[F. actif, L. activus, fr. agere to act.]" The selected historical definition says: "Having the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting; -- opposed to passive, that receives; as, certain active principles; the powers of the mind."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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