Where does “authoritative” come from?
Authoritative comes from Middle English autorite, from Old French auctorité, from Latin auctoritatem, the accusative of auctoritas meaning power or influence, formed from the agent noun suffix -tor and the abstract noun suffix -itas, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂ewg-.
authoritative (English): Arising or originating from a figure of...
Definitions
- Arising or originating from a figure of...
Ancestry of “authoritative”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | authority | The power to enforce rules or give orders;... |
| 2 | Middle English | auctorite | Legal authority or control; the privilege of... |
| 3 | Old French | autorité | authority |
| 4 | Latin | auctōritās | credibility, prestige, reputation, importance |
| 5 | Latin | auctor | seller, vendor; author; authorship, agency,... |
| 6 | Latin | augeō | to increase, augment, enlarge, spread, expand |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | augeō | to increase; to enlarge |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂owg-éye-ti | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ewg- | to increase, to enlarge |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂weg- | to increase, to enlarge |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ug- | — |