Where does “detachment” come from?
Detachment comes from French détachement, derived from French détacher with the suffix -ment, from Middle French des- and Latin -mentum, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁.
detachment (English): The action of detaching; separation; The state of...
Definitions
- The action of detaching; separation; The state of...
Ancestry of “detachment”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | détachement | detachment |
| 2 | French | détacher | to remove spots, stains; to detach, unbind or... |
| 3 | French | tacher | to soil or stain; to tarnish one's reputation |
| 4 | French | tache | blot, stain or smear; spot; more or less... |
| 5 | Old French | tasche | duty; obligation |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | tasca | — |
| 7 | Latin | taxa | second-person singular present active imperative... |
| 8 | Latin | taxāre | — |
| 9 | Latin | Taxus | yew |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | εἶδος | That which is seen: form, image, shape;... |
| 11 | Spanish | -scopio | -scope |
| 12 | Latin | -scopium | — |
| 13 | Ancient Greek | σκοπέω | I look, look at, behold; I examine, inspect; 413... |
| 14 | Ancient Greek | σκοπός | watcher, lookout; protector, guardian; spy, scout |
| 15 | Ancient Greek | σκέπτομαι | I look at, examine; I examine, consider, think |
| 16 | Proto-Hellenic | sképťomai | to look at |
| 17 | Proto-Indo-European | spéḱyeti | to be looking at, to keep looking at |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | speḱ- | to see, to look, to observe |