Where does “instinct” come from?
instinct (Dutch) comes from French instinct, from Latin īnstinctus, from Latin instinguo, from Latin īn-, from Latin în, from Latin en, from Proto-Italic en, from Proto-Indo-European h₁én — in.
instinct (Dutch): instinct
Ancestry of “instinct”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | instinct | instinct; gut feeling |
| 2 | Latin | īnstinctus | — |
| 3 | Latin | instinguo | to incite, to instigate |
| 4 | Latin | īn- | — |
| 5 | Latin | în | — |
| 6 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |