Where does “evasive” come from?
Evasive comes from French évasif, formed with the French suffix -if from Latin -ivus, ultimately derived from Latin ex meaning "out."
evasive (English): Tending to avoid speaking openly or making...
Definitions
- Tending to avoid speaking openly or making...
Ancestry of “evasive”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | évasif | evasive, slippery, noncommittal |
| 2 | French | évasion | escape; escapism |
| 3 | Middle French | évasion | — |
| 4 | Latin | evasiō | an escape |
| 5 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 6 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 7 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 8 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 9 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 10 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 11 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |