Where does “antiquity” come from?
Antiquity comes from Middle English antiquytee, from Old French antiquité, from Latin antiquitas, derived from the adjective antiquus meaning "ancient," which is rooted in Latin ante meaning "before," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂énti.
antiquity (English): Ancient times; faraway history; former ages; The...
Definitions
- Ancient times; faraway history; former ages; The...
Ancestry of “antiquity”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | antiquyte | Antiquity; former ages or times; The length of... |
| 2 | Old French | antiquité | — |
| 3 | Latin | antiquitas | antiquity; the good old days; the ancients |
| 4 | Latin | antīquus | old, ancient |
| 5 | Latin | ante | before, in front, forwards; before; before,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | κλίσις | bending, inclination; a lying down; a place for... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -σῐς | "suffix forming nouns" |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | -τις | retained after dentals |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |