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Origin of meaning. Origin of mean 1. Synonym study. Related Words. Examples from the Web for meaning. Contemporary Examples. His discourse is now more detailed: submission, which is the meaning of islam in Arabic, gives him a kind of enjoyment. But Bush is as exciting to many conservatives as Hillary Clinton is to many progressives, meaning not so much. Over the years, the meaning has evolved, essentially, to “Christmastime,” and describes the period between Dec. 24 and Jan. 6. December 24, 2014. The U.S. will reopen an embassy in Havana, meaning an ambassador will be appointed. December 18, 2014. The meaning of this title may have been honorific, but it is also striking. December 18, 2014. Historical Examples. The young man stared at his mother until he had mastered her meaning . Harry Leon Wilson. The people demanded of Antiphon the meaning of these visions. Lydia Maria Child. When I asked the meaning of this, they showed me a triangle. Lydia Maria Child. She was afraid that she now understood the meaning of the bill she had received. Jessie Graham Flower. Voices sounded in the hall, but he gave no heed to the meaning of all this. Word Origin. Word Origin. Word Origin. Word Origin and History for meaning. "sense, import, intent," c.1300, from mean (v.). "intend, have in mind," Old English mænan "to mean, intend, signify; tell, say; complain, lament," from West Germanic *mainijan (cf. Old Frisian mena "to signify," Old Saxon menian "to intend, signify, make known," Dutch menen , German meinen "think, suppose, be of the opinion"), from PIE *meino- "opinion, intent" (cf. Old Church Slavonic meniti "to think, have an opinion," Old Irish mian "wish, desire," Welsh mwyn "enjoyment"), perhaps from root *men- "think" (see mind (n.)). Conversational question you know what I mean? attested by 1834. "low-quality," c.1200, "shared by all," from imene , from Old English gemæne "common, public, general, universal, shared by all," from Proto-Germanic *ga-mainiz "possessed jointly" (cf. Old Frisian mene , Old Saxon gimeni , Middle Low German gemeine , Middle Dutch gemene , Dutch gemeen , German gemein , Gothic gamains "common"), from PIE *ko-moin-i- "held in common," a compound adjective formed from collective prefix *ko- "together" (Proto-Germanic *ga- ) + *moi-n- , suffixed form of PIE root *mei- "to change, exchange" (see mutable). Cf. second element in common (adj.), a word with a sense evolution parallel to that of this word. Of things, "inferior, second-rate," from late 14c. (a secondary sense in Old English was "false, wicked"). Notion of "so-so, mediocre" led to confusion with mean (n.). Meaning "inferior in rank or status" (of persons) emerged early 14c.; that of "ordinary" from late 14c.; that of "stingy, nasty" first recorded 1660s; weaker sense of "disobliging, pettily offensive" is from 1839, originally American English slang. Inverted sense of "remarkably good" (i.e. plays a mean saxophone ) first recorded c.1900, perhaps from phrase no mean _______ "not inferior" (1590s, also, "not average," reflecting further confusion with mean (n.)). "that which is halfway between extremes," early 14c., from Old French meien "middle, means, intermediary," noun use of adjective from Latin medianus "of or that is in the middle" (see mean (adj.2)). Oldest sense is musical; mathematical sense is from c.1500. Some senes reflect confusion with mean (adj.1). This is the mean in by no means (late 15c.).