Where does “contrive” come from?
Contrive comes from Middle English contreve, from Old French controver and trover, ultimately from Ancient Greek τροπή meaning "a turning" through Latin tropus and Vulgar Latin tropare.
contrive (English): To invent by an exercise of ingenuity; to devise;...
Definitions
- To invent by an exercise of ingenuity; to devise;...
Ancestry of “contrive”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | contreve | to invent |
| 2 | Old French | controver | — |
| 3 | Old French | trover | to find |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | tropare | to compose; present active infinitive of *tropō |
| 5 | Latin | tropus | a figurative use of a word, a trope; a way of... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | τρόπος | a turn, way, manner, style; a trope or figure of... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | τροπή | a turning; turning away the enemy, a rout;... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | -ή | suffix of feminine nouns in the [[Appendix:Ancient Greek first declension |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | -ᾱ | nominal suffix |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂ | — |