Where does “imbecile” come from?
Imbecile comes from Middle French imbécile, from Latin imbecillus meaning weak, composed of the Latin prefix in- and a root from Proto-Indo-European bak-.
imbecile (English): A person with limited mental capacity who can...
Definitions
- A person with limited mental capacity who can...
Ancestry of “imbecile”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | imbécile | — |
| 2 | Latin | imbēcillus | weak, feeble |
| 3 | Latin | Bacillus | — |
| 4 | Latin | -illus | Used to form adjectives from nouns |
| 5 | Latin | -lus | Alternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |