Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “equal” come from?

Equal comes from Latin aequalis, formed from Latin -alis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -li-.

equal (English): The same in all respects; Exactly identical,...

Definitions

  1. The same in all respects; Exactly identical,...

Ancestry of “equal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinaequālis—
2Latinæquus—
3Latinvocāre—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanwekʷ-to speak, to sound out

Words derived from “equal”

  • equally
  • equalization
  • equalize
  • equalizer
  • equalisation
  • coequal
  • equalise
  • subequal
  • inequal
  • equalness
  • nonequal
  • coequally
  • coequalizer
  • subequally
  • equalism
  • equalist
  • unequalable
  • adequal
  • inequally
  • nonequally
  • disequalize
  • inæqual
  • æqual
  • adequality
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wekʷ- →