Where does “elective” come from?
Elective comes from Latin electivus, formed from electus, the past participle of legere meaning "to choose," combined with the suffix -ivus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- meaning "to gather or pick."
elective (English): Of, or pertaining to voting or elections;...
Definitions
- Of, or pertaining to voting or elections;...
Ancestry of “elective”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | elect | One chosen or set apart; In Calvinist theology,... |
| 2 | Latin | ēlēctus | extracted |
| 3 | Latin | ēligō | to choose, to pluck or root out, extract |
| 4 | Latin | legō | to collect, gather, bring together, catch |
| 5 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |