# Where did the term signifigant other come from?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 22, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029 "2002-04-22T19:28:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@alciabiades\_the\_fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alciabiades_the_fair)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029/1 "2002-04-22T19:28:17Z")
I was under the impression that it was propagated as an ungendered replacement for girl/boyfriend but with a wider audience than spouse.
However, a friend of mine is arguing that it was a much wider umbrella term for any guest outside of spouse including friends and family.
Any one have any ideas based on anything more concrete that impressions?
---
### Author:  [@DPWhite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPWhite)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2002, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029/2 "2002-04-22T19:49:14Z")
I remember a long time back the IRS came up with POSSLQ: person of opposite sex sharing living quarters.
---
### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029/3 "2002-04-23T01:45:04Z")
Just a quick reply. I’ll try to find more later if I remember.
My M-W tenth Collegiate says 1953. “A person who is important to one’s well-being; esp: a spouse or one in a similar relationship.”
---
### Author:  [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2002, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029/4 "2002-04-23T02:02:13Z")
This is a tough one to search, but I _do_ seem to be dredging up Margaret Mead in a lot of hits. Nothing confirmative tying her to the term, though.
---
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2002, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029/5 "2002-04-23T05:04:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by DPWhite \*
> I remember a long time back the IRS came up with POSSLQ: person of opposite sex sharing living quarters.
I’m fairly sure it was the Census Bureau that came up with posslq.
---
### Author:  [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2002, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029/6 "2002-04-23T05:27:45Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Ringo \*
> This is a tough one to search, but I _do_ seem to be dredging up Margaret Mead in a lot of hits. Nothing confirmative tying her to the term, though.
I would guess that it originated in psychotherapy, or maybe as you say, as a Sociology term.
My favorite is “parental units”, from The Coneheads on old SNL
---
### Author:  [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029/7 "2002-04-24T01:35:30Z")
In their entry for “domestic partner”, the American Heritage dictionary notes that, "Two other terms, significant other and domestic partner, however, have seen widespread use **since at least 1985** as all-purpose words for describing a spouse or a lover. Over 75 percent of Usage Panelists feel these terms can be applied to members of either heterosexual or homosexual couples. Perhaps because the noun use of other in reference to people is not very common, significant other has not been as widely favored as domestic partner. The latter is used by an increasing number of companies and organizations in drafting benefits plans that include all members of such nontraditional families. " I’m not saying I necessarily agree with that. The link follows: [http://www.bartleby.com/61/26/D0332600.html](http://www.bartleby.com/61/26/D0332600.html) Emphasis added.
---
### Author:  [@mikan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikan)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029/8 "2002-04-24T05:32:09Z")
The term was originally coined by psychiatrist/psychotherapist Harry Stack Sullivan, who died in the late 1940s, and was used to denote someone who serves as a social reference point in a person’s development. This could include parents, teachers, etc., if I recall correctly. No idea how it got corrupted into its present-day meaning.
---
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-term-signifigant-other-come-from/105029/9 "2002-04-24T07:13:57Z")
Just a follow up on Mikan’s note
[significant other](http://www.iversonsoftware.com/sociology/significant_other.htm)
> [@](#):
>
> significant other(s) - Those folks who have the greatest influence on an individual and the individual’s self-evaluation and also on the individual’s acceptance or rejection of certain social norms. Originally used by Harry Stack Sullivan. Ralph Turner uses the term “relevant others.”