Where does “frequent” come from?

Frequent comes from Old French frequenter, from Latin frequens meaning crowded or thronged, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰrekʷ-.

frequent (English): Done or occurring often; common; Occurring at...

Definitions

  1. Done or occurring often; common; Occurring at...

Ancestry of “frequent”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchfrequentfrequent; often
2Latinfrequenscrowded, crammed, packed; frequent, repeated
3Proto-Italicfrekʷents
4Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrekʷ-to condense; to crowd together

Words derived from “frequent

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰrekʷ-
frequent — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer