Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “emergency” come from?

Emergency derives from Medieval Latin emergentia, from Latin emergens, the present participle of emergere, meaning to rise out or come forth, from ex- and a root meaning to rise.

emergency (English): A situation which poses an immediate risk and...

Definitions

  1. A situation which poses an immediate risk and...

Ancestry of “emergency”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinemergensemerging
2LatinemergoI emerge; I surface; I arise or come forth
3Latinmergō—
4Proto-Indo-European*mésgeti—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmesg-to dip, sink

Words derived from “emergency”

  • nonemergency
  • postemergency
  • emergency light
  • imegensi
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mesg- →