Where does “actually” come from?
Actually comes from Middle English actualy, derived from Old French actuels, from Late Latin actuālis meaning "active" or "relating to action."
actually (English): In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively;...
Definitions
- In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively;...
Ancestry of “actually”, step by step
actually traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English actual
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | actual | relating to a person's acts or deeds; active,... |
| 2 | Middle English | actual | actual, real, true |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | actuel | — |
| 4 | Old French | actual | — |
| 5 | Latin | actuālis | active, practical |
| 6 | Latin | āctus | made, done, having been done |
| 7 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |
via Tagalog talaga
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tagalog | talaga | surely; certainly; really; undoubtedly |
| 2 | Malay | telaga | well |
| 3 | Sanskrit | तलक | a pot of clay; a small cart with burning coals; a... |
| 4 | Sanskrit | तल | surface, level, floor; the part underneath, lower... |
| 5 | Old Irish | talam | earth, land; land, country; earth |
| 6 | Proto-Celtic | talamū | earth |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tl̥-mon- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | tel- | flat; board, plank; to be still; to build |