Where does “copyright” come from?
Copyright derives from English right and English copy, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵ-, meaning to direct or rule.
copyright (English): The right by law to be the entity which...
Definitions
- The right by law to be the entity which...
Ancestry of “copyright”, step by step
copyright traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English copy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | copy | The result of copying; an identical duplicate of... |
| 2 | Middle English | copy | — |
| 3 | Old French | copie | abundance, plenty; transcript, copy |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | copia | reproduction, transcript; copy; supply |
| 5 | Latin | cōpia | supply, abundance, copiousness, wealth, riches |
| 6 | Latin | coopia | — |
| 7 | Latin | co- | allomorph of con- |
| 8 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 9 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 10 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 14 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 15 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 16 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 17 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 18 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 19 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 20 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
via English right
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | right | Straight, not bent; Of an angle, having a size of... |
| 2 | Middle English | right | A good deed, right action; A just or equitable... |
| 3 | Old English | riht | straight; right, true, correct; rightful,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | reht | straight; right, correct; morally upright, just |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | rehtaz | right, straight; morally upright, just |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃reǵtós | straightened, right, upright |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃reǵ- | to straighten, to right oneself; right; just |