Kent-Drury

English 420

Definitions of Utopia from the OED

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) reports historical uses of words and explains how those uses change over time. Below are some historical uses of the terms utopia and utopian. The dates that follow each definition indicate the dates attached to examples used in the dictionary.

Utopia

1. An imaginary island, depicted by Sir Thomas More, as enjoying a perfect legal, social, and political system (1551-1900)

2. A place, state or condition ideally perfect in respect to politics, laws, customs, and conditions (1650-1788)

3. Any imaginary, indefinitely-remote region, country, or locality. (1610-1779)

4. A place, state or condition ideally perfect in respect of politics, laws, customs, and conditions (1613-1883)

5. An impossibly ideal scheme, esp. for social improvement (1734-1869)

Utopian

1. Of or belonging to the imaginary island of Utopia or its people (1551-1895)

2. Having no known location; existing nowhere (1609-1689)

3. Possessing or regarded as having impossibly or extravagantly ideal conditions in respect to politics, customs, social organization, etc (1613-1856)

4. Involving or founded on imaginary or chimerical (changing or fleeting) perfection; impossibly ideal, visionary (1601-1877)

5. A person that conceives, proposes, or advocates impractably ideal projects or schemes for social welfare, etc; believing in or aiming at the perfecting of polity or social conditions.