Where does “casual” come from?
Casual comes from Middle French casuel, from Latin casualis, an adjective formed with the suffix -alis from cadere, meaning "to fall," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱad-.
casual (English): Happening by chance; Coming without regularity;...
Definitions
- Happening by chance; Coming without regularity;...
Ancestry of “casual”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | casuel | fatal; of or relating to chance or fate |
| 2 | Late Latin | casualis | happening by chance; fortuitous; casual |
| 3 | Latin | casus | a fall, downwards movement; accident, chance; an... |
| 4 | Latin | cadere | present active infinitive of cadō; to fall, to... |
| 5 | Latin | cado | I fall, I fall out; I die; I cease |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kadō | fall, sink |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱad- | to fall |