Where does “gratuitous” come from?
Gratuitous comes from Latin gratuitus, derived from Latin gratus meaning "pleasing" or "acceptable," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷerH-.
gratuitous (English): Given freely; unearned; unjustified or...
Definitions
- Given freely; unearned; unjustified or...
Ancestry of “gratuitous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | grātuītus | freely given, free, gratuitous |
| 2 | Latin | grātia | grace |
| 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 |