Revised 2015 More entries for watershed

watershednoun1

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Frequency
Compounds & derived words

Quotations

Hide all quotations

Factsheet

What does the noun watershed mean?

There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun watershed. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

See meaning & use

How common is the noun watershed?

About 4occurrences per million words in modern written English

1770	0.0041
1780	0.0027
1790	0.0052
1800	0.0056
1810	0.0075
1820	0.011
1830	0.047
1840	0.2
1850	0.5
1860	0.87
1870	1.2
1880	1.4
1890	1.8
1900	2.0
1910	2.1
1920	2.1
1930	2.1
1940	2.4
1950	2.6
1960	3.0
1970	3.1
1980	3.7
1990	4.1
2000	4.5
2010	4.5

See frequency

How is the noun watershed pronounced?

British English

/ˈwɔːtəʃɛd/

WAW-tuh-shed

U.S. English

/ˈwɔdərˌʃɛd/

WAW-duhr-shed

/ˈwɑdərˌʃɛd/

WAH-duhr-shed

See pronunciation

Where does the noun watershed come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1700s

The earliest known use of the noun watershed is in the mid 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for watershed is from 1764, in the writing of J. Burton.

watershed is formed within English, by compounding; perhaps modelled on a German lexical item.

Etymons: water n., shed n.1

See etymology

Nearby entries

water scorpion-grass, n.1633–
water-screw, n.1648–
water seal, n.1847–
water security, n.1920–
water serpent, n.1530–
water shaft, n.1708–
watershake, n.1577–81
water-shaken, adj.1770–1840
watershard, n.1419–70
water shear, n.1765–1850
watershed, n.¹1764–
water-shed, n.²1859
water shedder, n.1546
water shelf, n.1853–
water shield, n.1817–
water ship, n.c1400–
watershoot, n.1585–
watershot, n.1567–1713
water-shot, adj.1858–
water-shot, adv.1627–1827
water shrew, n.1771–

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Meaning & use

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Pronunciation

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Frequency

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Compounds & derived words

Thank you for visiting Oxford English Dictionary

To continue reading, please sign in below or purchase a subscription. After purchasing, please sign in below to access the content.

View our subscription options

Personal account

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Entry history for watershed, n.¹

watershed, n.¹ was revised in September 2015.

watershed, n.¹ was last modified in December 2024.

Revision of the OED is a long-term project, and oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

corrections and revisions to definitions, especially to improve clarity, accuracy, or intelligibility;
new or updated quotation evidence, and reverified or redated bibliographical information;
new or updated pronunciations (transcriptions and audio files);
new or revised etymological information and improved coverage of variant spellings;
new senses or phrases added in print and online updates since OED2 (1989).

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into watershed, n.¹ in December 2024.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1923)

Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

Find out more
View watershed¹ in OED Second Edition

Cite

Permanent link:

Chicago 18

Oxford English Dictionary, “,” , .

Copied to clipboard

MLA 9

“” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, , .

Copied to clipboard

APA 7

Oxford University Press. (n.d.). In Oxford English dictionary. Retrieved , from

Copied to clipboard

Select format to download citation

Contribute

Please submit your feedback for watershed, n.¹

Please include your email address if you are happy to be contacted about your
feedback. OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose.

Section (required)

Feedback (required)

Citation details

Factsheet for watershed, n.¹

Browse entry

Nearby entries

water scorpion-grass, n.1633–
water-screw, n.1648–
water seal, n.1847–
water security, n.1920–
water serpent, n.1530–
water shaft, n.1708–
watershake, n.1577–81
water-shaken, adj.1770–1840
watershard, n.1419–70
water shear, n.1765–1850
watershed, n.¹1764–
water-shed, n.²1859
water shedder, n.1546
water shelf, n.1853–
water shield, n.1817–
water ship, n.c1400–
watershoot, n.1585–
watershot, n.1567–1713
water-shot, adj.1858–
water-shot, adv.1627–1827
water shrew, n.1771–

Browse more nearby entries