Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fanaticism” come from?

Fanaticism derives from English fanatic, ultimately from Latin fanum meaning temple, with the suffix -icus forming an adjective, and -ισμός forming a noun denoting the state or practice.

fanaticism (English): The characteristic or practice of being a fanatic

Definitions

  1. The characteristic or practice of being a fanatic

Ancestry of “fanaticism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfanaticFanatical; Showing evidence of possession by a...
2Frenchfanatiquefanatic, fanatical; fanatic
3Latinfānāticus—
4Latin-aticusUsed to form adjectives indicating a relation to...
5Latin-ātus—
6Proto-Italic-ātos—
7Proto-Indo-European-éh₂tos—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂tos →