Where does “gratis” come from?
Gratis comes from Latin gratis, derived from Latin cratīs, which developed from Latin gratia meaning favor or kindness, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European gʷerH-.
gratis (English): Free, without charge
Ancestry of “gratis”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | gratis | out of favor or kindness, without recompense or... |
| 2 | Latin | grātia | — |
| 3 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 4 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |