Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “auction” come from?

Auction comes from Latin auctio, a noun formed with the suffix -tio from the Proto-Indo-European root h₂ewg- meaning to increase or grow.

auction (English): A public event where goods or property are sold...

Definitions

  1. A public event where goods or property are sold...

Ancestry of “auction”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinauctiō—
2Latin-tiō—
3Latindissertātiō—
4Latindissertusarranged, disposed; explained
5Latindissereresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
6Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
7Latincalceusshoe
8Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
9Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

Words derived from “auction”

  • auctioneer
  • preauction
  • auctionable
  • nonauction
  • postauction
  • reauction
  • auctionlike
  • cyberauction
  • auction-goer
  • midauction
  • auctiongoer
  • e-auction
  • auctionability
  • オークション
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξ →