Where does “atonement” come from?
Atonement comes from Middle English atone, from Old French -ment, from Latin -mentum, derived from Latin mens meaning mind, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European méntis and men-.
atonement (English): Making amends to restore a damaged relationship;...
Definitions
- Making amends to restore a damaged relationship;...
Ancestry of “atonement”, step by step
atonement traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English onement
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | onement | The state of being at one or reconciled |
| 2 | English | One | The number represented by the Arabic numeral 1; the numerical value equal to that cardinal number |
| 3 | Middle English | on | on, in; on; Alternative form of oon |
| 4 | Old English | on | on, in, at, among; from |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | ana | on |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *an | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | ana | on, at; on, onto; ana |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |
via English AT
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | AT | Initialism of assistive technology; Initialism of... |
| 2 | Middle English | at | at; to |
| 3 | Old English | æt | eating; at a certain place; at a certain time |
| 4 | Proto-Turkic | āt | name |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | ētą | the act of eating; food |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | etaną | to eat |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁édti | to eat |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ed- | to eat |