Where does “ageism” come from?
Ageism derives from age plus the suffix -ism, tracing through Ancient Greek -ισμός and -μός to Proto-Indo-European -mós, ultimately from the root h₂egʰ- meaning to drive or move, which developed the sense of lifetime in Latin aevum.
ageism (English): The treating of a person or people, especially...
Definitions
- The treating of a person or people, especially...
Ancestry of “ageism”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | age | The whole duration of a being, whether animal,... |
| 2 | Middle English | age | The age of someone or rarely something; how old someone is |
| 3 | Old French | aage | age |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | aetaticum | age |
| 5 | Latin | aetās | the period of a life: lifetime, lifespan |
| 6 | Latin | aevitās | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | aiwotāts | age |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eyu- | vitality; eternal; vital force, life, long life,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ey- | vital force, life, age, eternity; day, morning |