Where does “ancient” come from?
Ancient comes from Old French ancien, derived from Latin anteanus, itself built from Latin ante meaning "before," ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₂énti.
ancient (English): Having lasted from a remote period; having been...
Definitions
- Having lasted from a remote period; having been...
Ancestry of “ancient”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | auncyen | — |
| 2 | Old French | ancien | old; ancient |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | anteanus | old, ancient |
| 4 | Latin | ante | before, in front, forwards; before; before,... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | κλίσις | bending, inclination; a lying down; a place for... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -σῐς | "suffix forming nouns" |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -τις | retained after dentals |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |