Where does “department” come from?
Department comes from French département, from Old French département and the suffix -ment (from Latin -mentum), ultimately from Latin de- and pars meaning part.
department (English): A part, portion, or subdivision; A distinct...
Definitions
- A part, portion, or subdivision; A distinct...
Ancestry of “department”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | département | department; département |
| 2 | Middle French | département | — |
| 3 | Old French | département | — |
| 4 | Old French | departir | to leave; to depart; departure |
| 5 | Latin | departiō | to divide |
| 6 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 7 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 8 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 9 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |