Where does “determinate” come from?
Determinate comes from Middle English determinate, from Latin determinatus, the past participle of determinare, from de- and terminus meaning boundary or limit, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ter-.
determinate (English): Distinct, clearly defined; Fixed, set, unvarying;...
Definitions
- Distinct, clearly defined; Fixed, set, unvarying;...
Ancestry of “determinate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | determinate | — |
| 2 | Latin | dēterminātus | delimited, confined, defined, designated |
| 3 | Latin | dēterminō | to delimit set bounds to |
| 4 | Latin | terminō | to mark off by boundaries, set bounds to; bound, limit |
| 5 | Latin | Terminus | the deity presiding over boundaries; a personification of the term terminus |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ter- | tender, weak; young creature |
| 7 | Italian | termine | end, close; limit, term, date, time; term, word |
| 8 | Latin | terminus | a boundary, limit, end |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | termenos | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | térmn̥ | boundary, end |