Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “assign” come from?

Assign comes from Middle English assignen, from Old French assigner, from Latin assignāre meaning "to allot or appoint," formed from the prefix ad- and the root sek- meaning "to cut or divide."

assign (English): To designate or set apart something for some...

Definitions

  1. To designate or set apart something for some...

Ancestry of “assign”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishassignen—
2Old Frenchassigner—
3Latinassignō—
4Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
5Latinīn-—
6Latinîn—
7Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
8Proto-Italicenin
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “assign”

  • assignable
  • assignor
  • reassign
  • assignability
  • nonassignable
  • assigner
  • unassignable
  • unassign
  • assigneth
  • preassign
  • reassignable
  • misassign
  • assignest
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →