Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “deficiency” come from?

Deficiency comes from French déficiency, from Latin deficientia, meaning "a failing or lack," derived from deficere "to fail or be lacking."

deficiency (English): Inadequacy or incompleteness; An insufficiency,...

Definitions

  1. Inadequacy or incompleteness; An insufficiency,...

Ancestry of “deficiency”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdeficientLacking something essential; "often construed...
2Latindēficiens—
3Latindeficerepresent active infinitive of dēficiō;...
4Latindefectusfailure; absence; weakness, failing, defect
5LatindeficioI withdraw; I forsake, desert or abandon; I fail,...
6Latinfaciō—
7Latin-toriumnominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative...
8Latin-tōrius—
9Latin-tor-er
10Proto-Italic-tōr—
11Proto-Indo-European-tōrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
12Proto-Indo-European-tor-s—

Words derived from “deficiency”

  • immunodeficiency
  • pseudodeficiency
  • indeficiency
  • gay-related immunodeficiency
  • gay-related immune deficiency
  • hyperdeficiency
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tor-s →