Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “charitable” come from?

Charitable comes from Old French charitable, derived from Old French charité, from Latin caritas meaning "dearness" or "affection," formed from the root kāro- ultimately traced to Proto-Indo-European keh₂ros.

charitable (English): Pertaining to charity; Kind, generous; Having a...

Definitions

  1. Pertaining to charity; Kind, generous; Having a...

Ancestry of “charitable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchcharitable—
2Old Frenchcharitégenerosity; sense of charity; charitable...
3Latincāritās—
4Latin-tās—
5Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
6Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
7Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “charitable”

  • uncharitable
  • charitably
  • uncharitableness
  • uncharitably
  • noncharitable
  • charitableness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tós →