Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ad-lib” come from?

ad-lib (English) comes from English ad lib, from English ad libitum, from New Latin ad libitum — at one's pleasure, allowing freedom to improvise,...

ad-lib (English): To improvise all or part of a speech or other...

Definitions

  1. To improvise all or part of a speech or other...

Ancestry of “ad-lib”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishad libAt pleasure; At will; To whatever extent
2Englishad libitumAs much as desired, to one's fill, without...
3New Latinad libitumat one's pleasure, allowing freedom to improvise,...

Words derived from “ad-lib”

  • ad-libber
Every word from New Latin ad libitum →