Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “adaptive” come from?

Adaptive comes from Middle French adapter, from Latin ad- (to) and a root related to Proto-Indo-European h₂ep- (to fasten or fit).

adaptive (English): Of, pertaining to, characterized by or showing...

Definitions

  1. Of, pertaining to, characterized by or showing...

Ancestry of “adaptive”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-iveAn adjective suffix signifying relating or...
2Middle English-yfA suffix designating adjectives, adverbs and...
3Old French-if-ive
4Latin-īvus—
5Proto-Indo-European-iHwós—
6Proto-Indo-European-wósCreates adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “adaptive”

  • maladaptive
  • adaptively
  • adaptivity
  • adaptiveness
  • nonadaptive
  • maladaptively
  • maladaptiveness
  • neuroadaptive
  • preadaptive
  • inadaptive
  • nonadaptiveness
  • pathoadaptive
  • proadaptive
  • idioadaptive
  • multiadaptive
  • adaptiivinen
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -wós →