Origin of 'state of the art'?

[Savvythought]

Hello! Who can tell me please where the term state of the art originated from? Thanks for all your answers.

[Sidle_Jinks]

Hello!

dictionary.reference.com/ says the following about “state of the art”:

…Despite including the word art, this term originated in technology, and its first recorded use appears in a 1910 book on the gas turbine.

And this is from Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_art):

The earliest known usage of the term “state of the art” dates back to 1910 from an engineering manual by H.H. Suplee titled Gas Turbine. It reads, “In the present state of the art this is all that can be done.”

[Toeic]

In addition to what Sidle Jinks (interesting name!) has said, I’d like to contribute the following. Michael Quinion, a distinguished British linguist is running a site called World Wide Words. According to him the phrase state-of-the-art was originally status of the art and it described the current level which some technical art had reached. Later the phrase changed from status of the art to state of the art and as Sidle Jinks pointed out it refers to the latest technology or best techniques in some product or activity.
Interesting topic by the way.

Regards
Fabrice

[Conchita]

@toeic

Michael Quinion, a distinguished British linguist is running a site called World Wide Words.

Great site! I found it very interesting. Thanks for mentioning it, Fabrice.

The first thing I learned there was that I suffer from Pareidolia (a psychological condition in which the brain falsely creates meaningful images out of random patterns). You see, that’s what happens to me with my bathroom floor tiles – I can always make out faces (more like caricatures, really) from their pattern. I knew there were many things wrong with me, but none so sophisticated-sounding as this one!

[Yankee]

@Conchita

Great site! I found it very interesting. Thanks for mentioning it, Fabrice.

I’m with you, Conchita! A very interesting site. And the “surprise me” function is fun.

Amy

[Conchita]

@Yankee

I’m with you, Conchita! A very interesting site. And the “surprise me” function is fun.

I hadn’t got to that section yet and yes, it’s very good, especially the following bit:

“Edify is working on software which responds to the pitch and tone of a telephone caller’s voice so that, if a complainant is spitting feathers, they can be transferred to a human who can calm them down”.

:lol:

[Thumperfive]

@Conchita

The first thing I learned there was that I suffer from Pareidolia (a psychological condition in which the brain falsely creates meaningful images out of random patterns). You see, that’s what happens to me with my bathroom floor tiles – I can always make out faces (more like caricatures, really) from their pattern. I knew there were many things wrong with me, but none so sophisticated-sounding as this one!

wow… that’s really interesting! I do the same thing myself but never knew there was a name for it!

guess there really IS a name for everything under the sun…

[Raettopia]

@toeic

According to him the phrase state-of-the-art was originally status of the art and it described the current level which some technical art had reached.

I don’t know why, but I love that explanation. Something about it just sounds really lovely.

[Thumperfive]

actually, it’s rather poetic when you think about it… seriously, it does.