Where does “altruism” come from?
Altruism derives from French altruisme, based on French autrui (other person) combined with the suffix -isma from Latin, -ισμός from Ancient Greek, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -mós.
altruism (English): Regard for others, both natural and moral without...
Definitions
- Regard for others, both natural and moral without...
Ancestry of “altruism”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | altruisme | altruism |
| 2 | French | autrui | others; other people; someone else |
| 3 | Old French | autrui | others |
| 4 | Latin | alteri | dative masculine singular of alter; dative... |
| 5 | Latin | alter | the other, the second; the one...the other |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂élteros | other , second |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂el- | to grow, nourish; beyond, other; to wander, roam |
Words derived from “altruism”