Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “attachment” come from?

Attachment comes from French attachement, derived from the Old French verb attacher plus the French suffix -ment, ultimately from Latin -mentum, a nominal suffix from Latin mens meaning mind, traced to Proto-Indo-European méntis.

attachment (English): The act or process of attaching; A strong...

Definitions

  1. The act or process of attaching; A strong...

Ancestry of “attachment”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchattachementattachment
2Frenchattacherto affix, bind, tie something to something else,...
3Old Frenchatachierto attach
4Old FrenchestachierAlternative form of atachier; bind; to fasten...
5Old Frenchestachestake; strap
6Medieval Latinstacaa stake
7Gothic𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌺𐌰—
8Proto-Germanicstakôstake
9Proto-Indo-European(s)teg-to cover; pole, stick, beam

Words derived from “attachment”

  • reattachment
  • nonattachment
  • preattachment
  • overattachment
  • unattachment
  • postattachment
  • attachment
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)teg- →