Where does “easier” come from?
Easier comes from English easy, from Middle English esy, with the comparative suffix -y from Middle French -ie, ultimately from Latin -ium and Proto-Indo-European -kos.
easier (English): comparative form of easy: more easy; more easily
Definitions
- comparative form of easy: more easy; more easily
Ancestry of “easier”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | easy | Comfortable; at ease; Requiring little skill or... |
| 2 | Middle English | esy | Comfortable, pleasant; Convenient, suitable, fit;... |
| 3 | English | ease | Ability, the means to do something, particularly;... |
| 4 | Middle English | ese | Alternative form of eise; Physical comfort, or... |
| 5 | Old French | aise | Alternative form of eise; empty space, elbow... |
| 6 | Latin | adiacēns | adjacent, adjoining, neighbouring |
| 7 | Latin | adiaceo | I lie beside, at, near or next to; am adjacent... |
| 8 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 9 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 10 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 11 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |