Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “evidence” come from?

Evidence comes from Middle English evidence, from Latin evidentia, a noun formed with the suffix -ia from Latin videre meaning to see, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European eǵ-.

evidence (English): Facts or observations presented in support of an...

Definitions

  1. Facts or observations presented in support of an...

Ancestry of “evidence”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishevidence—
2Latinevidentiaevidence; obviousness; vividness
3Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
4Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
5Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
6Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “evidence”

  • counterevidence
  • nonevidence
  • evidenceth
  • inevidence
  • evidencer
  • evidenceless
  • self-evidence
  • évidence
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →