Where does “adversary” come from?
Adversary derives from Middle English adversarie, from Old French aversaire, from Latin adversarius meaning opponent, from adversus meaning turned against, from advertere meaning to turn toward.
adversary (English): An opponent or rival
Definitions
- An opponent or rival
Ancestry of “adversary”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | adversarie | — |
| 2 | Old French | aversier | — |
| 3 | Latin | adversārius | opponent, rival |
| 4 | Latin | adversus | set opposite, adverse, having been set against;... |
| 5 | Latin | advertō | to turn to or towards |
| 6 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 7 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 8 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 9 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |