obsolescence

English

Etymology

From Latin obsolēscēns past participle of obsolēscere.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɒb.səˈlɛ.səns/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɑb.səˈlɛ.səns/
• Rhymes: -ɛsəns

Noun

obsolescence (countable and uncountable, plural obsolescences)

1. (uncountable) The state of being obsolete—no longer in use; gone into disuse; disused or neglected.
   • 1911, “Caddis-fly and Caddis-worm”, in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:

     Apart from this feature the Trichoptera also differ from the typical Neuroptera in the relatively simple, mostly longitudinal neuration of the wings, the absence or obsolescence of the mandibles and the semi-haustellate nature of the rest of the mouth-parts.

   • 2019, Jason Hickel, “Climate breakdown is coming. The UK needs a Greener New Deal”, in Guardian.:

     One way is to legislate extended warranties on products, so washing machines and refrigerators last for 30 years instead of 10. Another is to ban planned obsolescence, so manufacturers can’t create products that are designed to fail.

2. (countable) The process of becoming obsolete, outmoded or out of date.
   • 2005, Joseph Harold Greenberg, William Croft, Genetic Linguistics‎^[1]:

     Shared obsolescences can be of some significance when connected with a functional replacement. If two languages replace an earlier word for 'nose' with some other term and also lose the traditional term, this double agreement is of significance for judging the existence of a common historical period.

Synonyms

• obsoleteness (much less common)
• obsoletion

Derived terms

• built-in obsolescence
• planned obsolescence
• programmed obsolescence

 

Related terms

• expiration
• expiry
• lifespan
• obsolescent
• obsolete
• shelf life

 

Translations

state

• Basque: zaharkitzapen
• Catalan: obsolescència f
• Danish: forældelse c
• Finnish: vanhentuneisuus
• French: obsolescence (fr) f, désuétude (fr) f
• German: Obsoleszenz (de) f, Veraltetsein n
• Hungarian: elavultság (hu)
• Indonesian: keusangan (id)
• Italian: obsolescenza (it) f
• Polish: starzenie się
• Portuguese: obsolescência (pt) f
• Spanish: obsolescencia (es) f
• Swedish: föraldring c

process

• Bulgarian: отпадане от употреба (otpadane ot upotreba)
• Finnish: vanheneminen (fi), vanhentuminen (fi)
• Hungarian: elavulás (hu)

French

Etymology

English obsolescence.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔp.sɔ.lɛ.sɑ̃s/, /ɔp.sɔ.le.sɑ̃s/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

obsolescence f (plural obsolescences)

1. obsolescence

   Synonym: désuétude

   obsolescence programmée ― programmed obsolescence

Hypernyms

• vieillissement

Related terms

• obsolescent
• obsolète

See also

• durée de vie
• péremption
• sénescence

Further reading

• “obsolescence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.