operantadj.n.

Brit.

/ˈɒp(ə)rənt/,

/ˈɒp(ə)rn̩t/, U.S.

/ˈɑpər(ə)nt/

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin operant-, operans, operāns, operārī.

Etymology: < post-classical Latin operant-, operans active, effective (early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), use as adjective of classical Latin operāns, present participle of operārī operate v. Compare Middle French, French opérant (1470). With use as noun compare post-classical Latin operans worker (Vetus Latina; 1195, 1439 in British sources).

A. adj.

1. That operates or produces effects; operative, efficacious; †powerful in effect (obsolete).† cause operant n. [after post-classical Latin causa operans (5th cent.)] Obsolete efficient cause.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > [adjective] > in operation

workfulOE

operant?a1425

operative?a1425

inworking1587

energetical1595

afloat1604

working1609

energetic1629

active1641

energizing1751

energic1786

operating1825

functioning1835

running1842

functionating1884

functional1892

the world > action or operation > advantage > efficacy > [adjective]

frameeOE

goodeOE

mightyOE

vailanta1325

sicker1338

mightful1340

suffisant1340

virtuousa1387

effectivea1398

effectuala1398

worthya1398

availingc1420

effectuous?a1425

operant?a1425

substantialc1449

virtual?a1475

substantious1483

available1502

efficacious1528

energial1528

working1532

operatory1551

operatoriousa1555

stately1567

feckful1568

efficace?1572

shifty1585

operative1590

instrumental1601

efficable1607

speeding1612

effectuating1615

officious1618

availsome1619

prevailable1624

valid1651

perficient1659

affectuous1664

implemental1676

virtual1760

efficient1787

sufficient1831

slick1833

roadworthy1837

practician1863

positive1903

performant1977

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 50^v For after G..Of wondez or of ulcerez was 2 most differencez, viz. Only without cause presend, And associate wiþ cause operant [?c1425 Paris wirkynge cause; L. causa operante].

a1500 (a1450) tr. Secreta Secret. (Ashm. 396) (1977) 73 Þe soule vniuersell..hath 2 strengthes..The second forsoth operant [a1500 Lamb. wirkand] is lightned bythe glorious God with 7 strengthes þat ben cleped attractif, retentif, [etc.].

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 165 My operant powers their functions leaue to do.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 25 Sawce his pallate With thy most operant Poyson.

1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV iv. 427 This efficacious medicinal grace..they terme it sometimes..‘the operant and cooperant grace’.

a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1838) III. 305 The Roman doctrine, that the priest's absolution is operant, and not simply declarative.

1894 G. MacDonald Lilith (1895) xvi. 119 No conscious courage was operant in me.

1975 R. L. Duncan Dragons at Gate vii. 178 Was he now fully operant, logical, or was there a slight imbalance to his thinking?

1982 J. May Many-colored Land i. v. 41 We want you operant again no matter how long it takes.

1992 Psychol. Med. 22 568/1 The teaching of Hippocrates against rapid cooling of the body remained operant..into the nineteenth century.

2. Psychology. Involving the modification of behaviour by the reinforcing or inhibiting effect of its own consequences. Frequently in operant conditioning. Contrasted with respondent adj. 4b; cf. instrumental adj. 7.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > psychology > experimental psychology > conditioning > [adjective] > involving consequences

operant1937

1937 B. F. Skinner in Jrnl. Gen. Psychol. 16 274 There is also a kind of response which occurs spontaneously in the absence of any stimulation with which it may be specifically correlated... I shall call such a unit an operant and the behavior in general, operant behavior.

1941 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 54 568 (heading) An automatic device for providing motivation and reinforcement in operant conditioning.

1959 Jrnl. Exper. Anal. Behavior 2 57 Young and Boycott..describe behavior in the octopus which is almost certainly operant in nature, i.e., not elicited, but maintained by its consequences.

1968 Listener 29 Aug. 265/2 The sickest man in the hospital was selected to be..the first experiment in ‘operant conditioning’ therapy on a severely regressed and catatonic schizophrenic in Britain.

1975 Nature 20 Mar. 219/1 Behaviourism..puts us in a position to alter and improve the condition of mankind if only we will apply its commanding insights..into the agency of such cardinal notions as reinforcement and operant behaviour.

1993 Dog World Nov. 49/1 Operant conditioning enables a trainer to correct unwanted behaviors by using a variable reward system.

B. n.

†1. A person who or thing which operates or exerts force or influence. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > [noun] > one who or that which

operant1700

1700 S. Parker 6 Philos. Ess. 96 Where the Operation is essentially one, the Operant cannot be more.

1871 G. MacDonald Wilfrid Cumbermede I. x. 89 Cupboard love is not..always the most powerful operant on the childish mind.

†2. A workman: = operative n. 3a. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > worker > [noun]

man1381

workera1382

labourerc1400

piner1497

pair of hands1598

operator1611

operatist1651

operative1809

operant1831

ouvrier1845

scissorbill1910

rehire1927

1831 C. Lamb Newspapers 35 Years Ago in Elia 2nd Ser. No fractious operants ever turned out for half the tyranny which this necessity exercised upon us.

3. Psychology. An item of behaviour that is held to be not a response to a prior stimulus but something which is initially spontaneous on the part of the organism, operating on or affecting the environment so as to produce consequences which may reinforce or inhibit the recurrence of that behaviour. Contrasted with respondent n. 6.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > psychology > experimental psychology > conditioning > [noun] > initially spontaneous

operant1937

1967 A. Koestler Ghost in Machine i. 8 Operant strength is usually measured, for technical reasons, by the ‘rate of extinction’—how long the rat will persist in pressing the lever after the supply of pellets has been stopped.

1986 S. M. Hinchliff Teaching Clin. Nursing (ed. 2) 101 If a reinforcer is given every time an operant is shown there is an initial rapid increase in the occurrence of that operant until a steady level of behaviour is reached.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	operant
释义	operantadj.n. Brit. /ˈɒp(ə)rənt/, /ˈɒp(ə)rn̩t/, U.S. /ˈɑpər(ə)nt/ Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin operant-, operans, operāns, operārī. Etymology: < post-classical Latin operant-, operans active, effective (early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), use as adjective of classical Latin operāns, present participle of operārī operate v. Compare Middle French, French opérant (1470). With use as noun compare post-classical Latin operans worker (Vetus Latina; 1195, 1439 in British sources). A. adj. 1. That operates or produces effects; operative, efficacious; †powerful in effect (obsolete).† cause operant n. [after post-classical Latin causa operans (5th cent.)] Obsolete efficient cause. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > [adjective] > in operation workfulOE operant?a1425 operative?a1425 inworking1587 energetical1595 afloat1604 working1609 energetic1629 active1641 energizing1751 energic1786 operating1825 functioning1835 running1842 functionating1884 functional1892 the world > action or operation > advantage > efficacy > [adjective] frameeOE goodeOE mightyOE vailanta1325 sicker1338 mightful1340 suffisant1340 virtuousa1387 effectivea1398 effectuala1398 worthya1398 availingc1420 effectuous?a1425 operant?a1425 substantialc1449 virtual?a1475 substantious1483 available1502 efficacious1528 energial1528 working1532 operatory1551 operatoriousa1555 stately1567 feckful1568 efficace?1572 shifty1585 operative1590 instrumental1601 efficable1607 speeding1612 effectuating1615 officious1618 availsome1619 prevailable1624 valid1651 perficient1659 affectuous1664 implemental1676 virtual1760 efficient1787 sufficient1831 slick1833 roadworthy1837 practician1863 positive1903 performant1977 ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 50^v For after G..Of wondez or of ulcerez was 2 most differencez, viz. Only without cause presend, And associate wiþ cause operant [?c1425 Paris wirkynge cause; L. causa operante]. a1500 (a1450) tr. Secreta Secret. (Ashm. 396) (1977) 73 Þe soule vniuersell..hath 2 strengthes..The second forsoth operant [a1500 Lamb. wirkand] is lightned bythe glorious God with 7 strengthes þat ben cleped attractif, retentif, [etc.]. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. ii. 165 My operant powers their functions leaue to do. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 25 Sawce his pallate With thy most operant Poyson. 1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV iv. 427 This efficacious medicinal grace..they terme it sometimes..‘the operant and cooperant grace’. a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1838) III. 305 The Roman doctrine, that the priest's absolution is operant, and not simply declarative. 1894 G. MacDonald Lilith (1895) xvi. 119 No conscious courage was operant in me. 1975 R. L. Duncan Dragons at Gate vii. 178 Was he now fully operant, logical, or was there a slight imbalance to his thinking? 1982 J. May Many-colored Land i. v. 41 We want you operant again no matter how long it takes. 1992 Psychol. Med. 22 568/1 The teaching of Hippocrates against rapid cooling of the body remained operant..into the nineteenth century. 2. Psychology. Involving the modification of behaviour by the reinforcing or inhibiting effect of its own consequences. Frequently in operant conditioning. Contrasted with respondent adj. 4b; cf. instrumental adj. 7. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > psychology > experimental psychology > conditioning > [adjective] > involving consequences operant1937 1937 B. F. Skinner in Jrnl. Gen. Psychol. 16 274 There is also a kind of response which occurs spontaneously in the absence of any stimulation with which it may be specifically correlated... I shall call such a unit an operant and the behavior in general, operant behavior. 1941 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 54 568 (heading) An automatic device for providing motivation and reinforcement in operant conditioning. 1959 Jrnl. Exper. Anal. Behavior 2 57 Young and Boycott..describe behavior in the octopus which is almost certainly operant in nature, i.e., not elicited, but maintained by its consequences. 1968 Listener 29 Aug. 265/2 The sickest man in the hospital was selected to be..the first experiment in ‘operant conditioning’ therapy on a severely regressed and catatonic schizophrenic in Britain. 1975 Nature 20 Mar. 219/1 Behaviourism..puts us in a position to alter and improve the condition of mankind if only we will apply its commanding insights..into the agency of such cardinal notions as reinforcement and operant behaviour. 1993 Dog World Nov. 49/1 Operant conditioning enables a trainer to correct unwanted behaviors by using a variable reward system. B. n. †1. A person who or thing which operates or exerts force or influence. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > [noun] > one who or that which operant1700 1700 S. Parker 6 Philos. Ess. 96 Where the Operation is essentially one, the Operant cannot be more. 1871 G. MacDonald Wilfrid Cumbermede I. x. 89 Cupboard love is not..always the most powerful operant on the childish mind. †2. A workman: = operative n. 3a. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > worker > [noun] man1381 workera1382 labourerc1400 piner1497 pair of hands1598 operator1611 operatist1651 operative1809 operant1831 ouvrier1845 scissorbill1910 rehire1927 1831 C. Lamb Newspapers 35 Years Ago in Elia 2nd Ser. No fractious operants ever turned out for half the tyranny which this necessity exercised upon us. 3. Psychology. An item of behaviour that is held to be not a response to a prior stimulus but something which is initially spontaneous on the part of the organism, operating on or affecting the environment so as to produce consequences which may reinforce or inhibit the recurrence of that behaviour. Contrasted with respondent n. 6. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > psychology > experimental psychology > conditioning > [noun] > initially spontaneous operant1937 1937 B. F. Skinner in Jrnl. Gen. Psychol. 16 274 There is also a kind of response which occurs spontaneously in the absence of any stimulation with which it may be specifically correlated... I shall call such a unit an operant and the behavior in general, operant behavior. 1967 A. Koestler Ghost in Machine i. 8 Operant strength is usually measured, for technical reasons, by the ‘rate of extinction’—how long the rat will persist in pressing the lever after the supply of pellets has been stopped. 1986 S. M. Hinchliff Teaching Clin. Nursing (ed. 2) 101 If a reinforcer is given every time an operant is shown there is an initial rapid increase in the occurrence of that operant until a steady level of behaviour is reached. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.n.?a1425
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