Where does “futile” come from?

Futile comes from Middle French futile, from Latin futilis meaning "leaky" or "worthless," derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ǵʰew- meaning "to pour."

futile (English): Incapable of producing results; doomed not to be...

Definitions

  1. Incapable of producing results; doomed not to be...

Ancestry of “futile”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchfutile—
2Latinfutilisthat easily pours out; that can not contain,...
3Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰew-to pour

Words derived from “futile”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰew- →Every word from Latin futilis →Every word from Middle French futile →