Where does “determiner” come from?
Determiner comes from English determine, influenced by Old French -er and Latin -are, ultimately from Proto-Italic -os, the suffix forming agent nouns and adjectives.
determiner (English): A member of a class of words functioning in a...
Definitions
- A member of a class of words functioning in a...
Ancestry of “determiner”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | determine | To set the boundaries or limits of; To ascertain... |
| 2 | Middle English | determinen | — |
| 3 | Old French | determiner | — |
| 4 | Latin | dēterminare | — |
| 5 | Latin | terminare | present active infinitive of terminō;... |
| 6 | Latin | Terminus | the deity presiding over boundaries; a personification of the term terminus |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ter- | tender, weak; young creature |
| 8 | Italian | termine | end, close; limit, term, date, time; term, word |
| 9 | Latin | terminus | a boundary, limit, end |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | termenos | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | térmn̥ | boundary, end |