Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “environment” come from?

Environment derives from Middle French environnement, a noun formed from the verb environner meaning to surround or encircle.

environment (English): The surroundings of, and influences on, a...

Definitions

  1. The surroundings of, and influences on, a...

Ancestry of “environment”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchenvironnement—

Words derived from “environment”

  • environmental
  • environmentally
  • environmentalism
  • environmentalist
  • microenvironment
  • paleoenvironmental
  • palaeoenvironmental
  • microenvironmental
  • macroenvironment
  • enviro
  • socioenvironmental
  • paleoenvironment
  • nonenvironmental
  • antienvironmental
  • macroenvironmental
  • geoenvironmental
  • bioenvironmental
  • antienvironment
  • subenvironment
  • Enviropig
  • nanoenvironment
  • cyberenvironment
  • bioenvironment
  • nonenvironmentally
Every word from Middle French environnement →