Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “assert” come from?

Assert comes from Latin assertus, the past participle of assero meaning "to claim or maintain," formed from the prefix ad- and the root ser- meaning "to join or put together."

assert (English): To declare with assurance or plainly and...

Definitions

  1. To declare with assurance or plainly and...

Ancestry of “assert”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinassertusdeclared free, set free, liberated, having been...
2Latinasserō—
3Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
4Latinīn-—
5Latinîn—
6Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
7Proto-Italicenin
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “assert”

  • assertive
  • assertiveness
  • reassert
  • assertively
  • unassertive
  • nonassertive
  • asserter
  • assertability
  • assertible
  • assertable
  • unassertiveness
  • nonassertiveness
  • nonassertively
  • overassertive
  • unassertively
  • nonasserted
  • unassertable
  • overassertiveness
  • overassert
  • unassertible
  • unassert
  • self-assertive
  • hyperassertive
  • counterassert
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →