Where does “hesitate” come from?
Hesitate comes from Latin haesitatus, the past participle of haesitare, derived from haerere meaning to stick or hold fast, with the frequentative suffix -itare.
hesitate (English): To stop or pause respecting decision or action;...
Definitions
- To stop or pause respecting decision or action;...
Ancestry of “hesitate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | haesitatus | hesitated, having been uncertain; having been... |
| 2 | Latin | haesitō | to remain fixed in place |
| 3 | Latin | -tito | Forms frequentative verbs from existing verbs |
| 4 | Latin | -ito | Forms frequentative verbs from existing verbs or... |
| 5 | Latin | -tō | Forms here |
| 6 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |