Where does “creativity” come from?
Creativity derives from English creative plus the French suffix -ité, from Latin -itas denoting a state or quality, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱer- meaning to make or do.
creativity (English): The ability to use imagination to produce a novel...
Definitions
- The ability to use imagination to produce a novel...
Ancestry of “creativity”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ity | Used to form a noun from an adjective;... |
| 2 | Middle English | -ite | — |
| 3 | Old French | -ité | -ity |
| 4 | Latin | -itās | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ts | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -teh₂ | Used to form nouns representing state of being |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |