agenda
agenda
Latin
“The things that must be done — a word that went from prayer lists to power politics.”
Agenda is the neuter plural gerundive of Latin agere (to do, to drive, to act): agenda literally means 'things that must be done.' It is grammatically plural — each item on a list is an agendum — though English has long treated it as a singular noun.
The word first appeared in English in the 17th century for liturgical contexts: the agenda were the prescribed actions of a church service. From sacred ritual, it migrated to secular bureaucracy — meeting agendas, political agendas, corporate agendas.
The phrase 'hidden agenda' emerged in the mid-20th century and changed the word's emotional valence. Before, an agenda was neutral — a to-do list. After, it could imply manipulation: someone with an agenda is not to be trusted.
The same Latin root agere gave English 'agent,' 'agile,' 'agitate,' 'navigate,' and 'act' itself. To have an agenda is to be an agent — to be someone who does rather than someone to whom things are done.
Related Words
Today
Everyone has an agenda now — and it's rarely a compliment. Politicians, corporations, media outlets, even friends are suspected of hidden agendas. The neutral Latin to-do list has become a synonym for ulterior motive.
But the original meaning persists in every meeting room: things that must be done. The word still believes in action, even as we've learned to distrust the actors.
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