Where does “imaginary” come from?
Imaginary comes from Latin imaginarius, derived from Latin imago (image, likeness), ultimately rooted in Proto-Indo-European ne (not).
imaginary (English): Existing only in the imagination; Having no real...
Definitions
- Existing only in the imagination; Having no real...
Ancestry of “imaginary”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | imaginaire | — |
| 2 | Latin | imaginarius | image; imaginary |
| 3 | Latin | imago | image, imitation, likeness, statue,... |
| 4 | Latin | im- | Alternative form of in-; form of "in"; in |
| 5 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 6 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 7 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |