Where does “disinterestedness” come from?
Disinterestedness is an English formation from disinterest, which combines the prefix dis- with interest, ultimately deriving from Latin dis- and ex meaning "not" or "away from," and sum meaning "to be."
disinterestedness (English): The state or quality of being disinterested
Definitions
- The state or quality of being disinterested
Ancestry of “disinterestedness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | disinterested | Having no stake or interest in the outcome; free... |
| 2 | English | disinterest | A lack of interest; The absence of bias; What is... |
| 3 | English | interest | The price paid for obtaining, or price received... |
| 4 | Old French | interest | — |
| 5 | French | intérêt | interest; point |
| 6 | Medieval Latin | interesse | present active infinitive of intersum; to... |
| 7 | Latin | interesse | present active infinitive of intersum; to... |
| 8 | Latin | esse | present infinitive of sum; state, condition;... |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | οὐσία | that which is one's own, one's substance,... |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | εἰμί | To be, exist; live; To be; it is possible |
| 11 | Proto-Hellenic | ehmi | to be |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ésmi | first-person singular present indicative of... |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ēs- | to be |