Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “affordance” come from?

Affordance comes from English afford plus the suffix -ance from French, ultimately derived from Latin -antia and Proto-Germanic furþōną meaning to further or promote, from Proto-Indo-European per- meaning to lead or pass through.

affordance (English): Anything that is provided or furnished by an...

Definitions

  1. Anything that is provided or furnished by an...

Ancestry of “affordance”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishaffordTo incur, stand, or bear without serious...
2Middle Englishafforthen—
3Middle Englishiforthen—
4Old Englishġeforþianto further, accomplish, afford
5Old Englishforþianto further, accomplish, afford
6Old Englishforþonbecause, since
7Old Englishfōrjourney; going, course, journey
8Proto-West Germanicfurifor; before; forward
9Proto-Germanicfurifor, before; before, forward
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
11Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
12Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →