Where does “illicit” come from?
Illicit comes from French illicite, from Latin illicitus, composed of the Latin prefix in- (not) and Latin licitus (lawful), ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European ne (not).
illicit (English): Not approved by law, but not invalid; Breaking...
Definitions
- Not approved by law, but not invalid; Breaking...
Ancestry of “illicit”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | illicite | illicit |
| 2 | Latin | illicitus | forbidden, unlawful, illegal, illicit |
| 3 | Latin | īn- | — |
| 4 | Latin | în | — |
| 5 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
Words derived from “illicit”