Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Identify in Webster's 1913 dictionary

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

WEBSTER 1913verb
Identify

[Cf. F. identifier. See Identity, and -fy.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordidentify
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[Cf. F. identifier. See Identity, and -fy.]
Selected historical definitionTo make to be the same; to unite or combine in such a manner as to make one; to treat as being one or having the same purpose or effect; to consider as the same in any relation.
Signed record IDwebster1913-identify-verb-3a5fab26b51b
Source locatorCIDE.I, paragraph 308; Gutenberg eBook 664
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 664Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "identify" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[Cf. F. identifier. See Identity, and -fy.]" The selected historical definition says: "To make to be the same; to unite or combine in such a manner as to make one; to treat as being one or having the same purpose or effect; to consider as the same in any relation."

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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