Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “assistant” come from?

Assistant derives from Middle French assistant, from Middle French assister meaning "to stand by," from Latin assisto, composed of Latin ad- and Latin ad meaning "toward," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ád and the root steh₂- meaning "to stand."

assistant (English): Having a subordinate or auxiliary position;...

Definitions

  1. Having a subordinate or auxiliary position;...

Ancestry of “assistant”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchassistantpresent participle of assister; gerund of...
2Middle Frenchassisterto be present
3LatinassistoI place myself somewhere, stand , post myself;...
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 “assistant”

  • assistantship
  • underassistant
  • assistantly
  • assistant
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →