effect
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
For noun: from Middle English effect, from Old French effect (modern French effet), from Latin effectus (“an effect, tendency, purpose”), from efficiō (“accomplish, complete, effect”); see effect as a verb. Replaced Old English fremming, fremednes from fremman.
For verb: from Middle English effecten, partly from Latin effectus, perfect passive participle of efficiō (“accomplish, complete, do, effect”), from ex (“out”) + faciō (“do, make”) (see fact and compare affect, infect) and partly from the noun effect.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪˈfɛkt/
- (General American) IPA(key): /əˈfɛkt/
- (Malaysia, Singapore) IPA(key): /iˈfɛkt/[1]
Audio (GA) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛkt
- Hyphenation: ef‧fect
Noun[edit]
effect (countable and uncountable, plural effects)
- The result or outcome of a cause.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:
- The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess[2]:
- The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. […] The bed was the most extravagant piece. Its graceful cane halftester rose high towards the cornice and was so festooned in carved white wood that the effect was positively insecure, as if the great couch were trimmed with icing sugar.
- 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist[3], volume 407, number 8839, page 55:
- The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.
- The effect of the hurricane was a devastated landscape.
- Impression left on the mind; sensation produced.
- 1832 October 1, unknown author, “The Tears of Parents”, in The Christian Observer, volume 32:
- patchwork […] introduced for oratorical effect
- 1832, Washington Irving, Tales of the Alhambra:
- The effect was heightened by the wild and lonely nature of the place.
- Execution; performance; realization; operation.
- c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene v]:
- That no compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between / The effect and it.
- (uncountable) The state of being binding and enforceable, as in a rule, policy, or law.
- The new law will come into effect on the first day of next year.
- (cinematography) An illusion produced by technical means (as in "special effect")
- The effect of flying was most convincing.
- (sound engineering) An alteration, or device for producing an alteration, in sound after it has been produced by an instrument.
- I use an echo effect here to make the sound more mysterious.
- I just bought a couple of great effects.
- (physics, psychology, etc.) A scientific phenomenon, usually named after its discoverer.
- Doppler effect
- (usually in the plural) Belongings, usually as personal effects.
- Consequence intended; purpose; meaning; general intent; with to.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 2 Chronicles 34:22:
- They spake to her to that effect.
- (obsolete) Reality; actual meaning; fact, as distinguished from mere appearance.
- 1642, John Denham, Cooper's Hill
- no other in effect than what it seems
- 1642, John Denham, Cooper's Hill
- (obsolete) Manifestation; expression; sign.
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:
- All the large effects / That troop with majesty.
Usage notes[edit]
Do not confuse with affect.
Adjectives often applied to "effect":
- biological, chemical, cultural, economic, legal, mental, moral, nutritional, personal, physical, physiological, political and social
- actual, bad, beneficial, catastrophic, deleterious, disastrous, devastating, fatal, good, harmful, important, intended, likely, natural, negative, positive, potential, primary, real, secondary, significant, special, strong, undesirable and weak
Hyponyms[edit]
- aftereffect
- butterfly effect
- cutaneous rabbit effect
- disulfiram effect
- domino effect
- Doppler effect
- Dunning-Kruger effect
- greenhouse effect
- Hill-Robertson effect
- ill effect
- knock-on effect
- Lombard effect
- Marangoni effect
- Matthew effect
- Nader effect
- ripple effect
- runaway albedo effect
- side effect
- snowball effect
- sound effect
- special effect
- spoiler effect
- Woozle effect
- Yarkovsky effect
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
References[edit]
Verb[edit]
effect (third-person singular simple present effects, present participle effecting, simple past and past participle effected)
- (transitive) To make or bring about; to implement.
- 1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)[4]:
- The punishment for sodomy, when completely effected, was death, and it was frequently inflicted.
- The best way to effect change is to work with existing stakeholders.
- Misspelling of affect.
Usage notes[edit]
Effect is often confused with affect. The latter suggests influence over existing ideas, emotions and entities; the former indicates the manifestation of new or original ideas or entities:
- “New governing coalitions have effected major changes” indicates that major changes were made as a result of new governing coalitions.
- “New governing coalitions have affected major changes” indicates that before new governing coalitions, major changes were in place, and that the new governing coalitions had some influence over those existing changes.
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Further reading[edit]
- “effect” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- “effect” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle Dutch effect, from Old French effect, from Latin effectus. The sense ‘(equitable) security’ borrowed from German Effekt or French effet.[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
effect n (plural effecten, diminutive effectje n)
- effect, impact
- (finance, usually in the plural) security, notably bond or stock
- Hypernym: waardepapier
- (ball games) spin (rotation of a ball)
- (obsolete) personal effect, belonging
Compounds[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; van der Sijs, Nicoline (2003–2009) Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands (in Dutch), Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press
Middle French[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old French effect
Noun[edit]
effect m (plural effects)
Descendants[edit]
- French: effet
Old French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Noun[edit]
effect m (oblique plural effecz or effectz, nominative singular effecz or effectz, nominative plural effect)
- effect
- (law) judgment; decree
- punir les contrevenantz solonc l’effect des estatut
- Punish the offender according to the decree of the statute
- punir les contrevenantz solonc l’effect des estatut
Descendants[edit]
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰeh₁-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛkt
- Rhymes:English/ɛkt/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Cinematography
- en:Sound engineering
- en:Physics
- en:Psychology
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English misspellings
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old French
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms derived from German
- Dutch terms derived from French
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛkt
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch neuter nouns
- nl:Finance
- nl:Ball games
- Dutch terms with obsolete senses
- Middle French terms inherited from Old French
- Middle French terms derived from Old French
- Middle French lemmas
- Middle French nouns
- Middle French masculine nouns
- Middle French countable nouns
- Old French terms inherited from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French masculine nouns
- fro:Law