different between purpose vs efficacy

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p?p?s/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p??p?s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)p?s

Etymology 1

From Middle English purpos, from Old French purposer (“to propose”), from Latin pr? (“forth”) + pono, hence Latin propono, proponere, with conjugation altered based on poser.

Noun

purpose (countable and uncountable, plural purposes)

1. An objective to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
2. A result that is desired; an intention.
3. The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
   • 2013, Phil McNulty, "[2]", BBC Sport, 1 September 2013:

     United began with more purpose in the early phase of the second half and Liverpool were grateful for Glen Johnson's crucial block from Young's goalbound shot.
4. The subject of discourse; the point at issue.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

5. The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.

6. (obsolete) Instance; example.

Synonyms

• (target): aim, goal, object, target; See also Thesaurus:goal
• (intention): aim, plan, intention; See also Thesaurus:intention
• (determination): determination, intention, resolution
• (subject of discourse): matter, subject, topic
• (reason for doing something): reason

Hyponyms

• common purpose
• metapurpose

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English purposen, from Old French purposer (“to propose”).

Verb

purpose (third-person singular simple present purposes, present participle purposing, simple past and past participle purposed)

1. (transitive) To have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
2. (transitive, passive) To design for some purpose. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
3. (obsolete, intransitive) To discourse.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Edmund Spenser to this entry?)

Derived terms

• purposed
• purposer
• purposive
• on purpose

Synonyms

• (have set as one's purpose): aim, intend, mean, plan, set out
• (designed for some purpose): intended

Translations

References

• “purpose” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “purpose”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, ?ISBN
• "purpose" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.

English

Etymology

From Old French efficace, from Late Latin effic?cia (“efficacy”), from effic?x (“efficacious”); see efficacious.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??f.?.k?.si/

Noun

efficacy (usually uncountable, plural efficacies)

1. Ability to produce a desired effect under ideal testing conditions.
   • 2005, Flay et al. Standards of Evidence: Criteria for Efficacy, Effectiveness and Dissemination DOI: 10.1007/s11121-005-5553-y

     Efficacy refers to the beneficial effects of a program or policy under optimal conditions of delivery, whereas effectiveness refers to effects of a program or policy under more real-world conditions.

2. Degree of ability to produce a desired effect.
   • 1996, Moskovich, Patent application PCT/US1996/003658

     Toothbrush with improved efficacy

Synonyms

• efficacity

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• efficacy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• efficacy in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.