pivotal

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English pivot

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālisbor.

Old French -albor.

▲

Latin -ālis

Old French -elbor.

▲

Latin -ālisbor.

Middle English -al

English -al

English pivotal

From pivot + -al.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪvɪtəl/, /ˈpɪvətəl/
• (US, Canada, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪvɪtəl/, [ˈpɪvɪɾəl], /ˈpɪvətəl/, [ˈpɪvəɾəl]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

Adjective

pivotal (comparative more pivotal, superlative most pivotal)

1. Of, relating to, or being a pivot.
2. (figuratively) Being of crucial importance; central, key.

   Synonym: polar

   • 2013 June 7, Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalisation is about taxes too”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 19:

     It is time the international community faced the reality: we have an unmanageable, unfair, distortionary global tax regime. It is a tax system that is pivotal in creating the increasing inequality that marks most advanced countries today […].

   • 2021 January 13, “Packham initiates new petition opposing HS2”, in RAIL, issue 922, page 12:

     "Crucially, HS2 is already playing a pivotal role in helping Britain's post-pandemic economic recovery.

Derived terms

• nonpivotal
• pivotality
• pivotally
• pivotalness
• pivotal quantity

Translations

of, relating to, or being a pivot — see also pivoting

• Armenian: առանցքային (hy) (aṙancʻkʻayin)
• Bulgarian: осов (osov), опорен (oporen)
• Greek: αξονικός (el) (axonikós)
• Macedonian: сто́жерен (stóžeren)
• Polish: sworzniowy, trzpieniowy, rdzeniowy (pl)
• Russian: опорный (ru) (opornyj)
• Spanish: pivotal
• Swedish: pivå-

being of crucial importance; central, key

• Armenian: առանցքային (hy) (aṙancʻkʻayin)
• Bulgarian: централен (bg) (centralen), основен (bg) (osnoven)
• Dutch: cruciaal (nl), doorslaggevend (nl)
• Finnish: keskeinen (fi), ratkaiseva (fi), käänteentekevä
• French: central (fr), crucial (fr), déterminant (fr), essentiel (fr)
• German: entscheidend (de), ausschlaggebend (de), Dreh- (de), Zapfen- (de), Angel- (de), Zentral- (de), Schlüssel- (de), Kardinal- (de)
• Greek: καθοριστικός (el) (kathoristikós), σημαντικός (el) (simantikós), καίριος (el) (kaírios)
• Italian: cruciale (it), fondamentale (it), centrale (it)
• Macedonian: клу́чен (klúčen), о́сновен (ósnoven), гла́вен (gláven)
• Polish: kluczowy (pl)
• Portuguese: pivotal, crucial (pt)
• Russian: основной (ru) (osnovnoj), центральный (ru) (centralʹnyj)
• Spanish: crucial (es), pivotal
• Swedish: central (sv), väsentlig (sv), avgörande (sv), huvudsaklig (sv), nyckel- (sv)

Portuguese

Adjective

pivotal m or f (plural pivotais)

1. pivotal; crucial (being the most important)

   Synonym: crucial

Further reading

• “pivotal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026