Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “chastity” come from?

Chastity comes from Middle English chastite, from Old French chasteté, from Latin castitas (state of being pure), derived from Latin castus (pure) with the suffix -teh₂, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kesa.

chastity (English): The quality of being chaste: the state of...

Definitions

  1. The quality of being chaste: the state of...

Ancestry of “chastity”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishchastite—
2Old Frenchchasteté—
3Latincastitaspurity; morality; chastity
4Latincastusmorally pure, guiltless; pure, chaste, free from...
5Latincareō—
6Proto-Italickazēōto lack
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱes-éh₁-ye-ti—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱes-to cut off, separate; to cut up, to slaughter; to...

Words derived from “chastity”

  • unchastity
  • inchastity
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱes- →