Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “impersonality” come from?

Impersonality comes from French impersonnel, from Latin impersonalis (in- "not" plus personalis "of a person"), with the abstract noun suffix -itas.

impersonality (English): The state or quality of being impersonal

Definitions

  1. The state or quality of being impersonal

Ancestry of “impersonality”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishimpersonalNot personal; not representing a person; not...
2Frenchimpersonnelimpersonal; impersonal, banal, nondescript
3Latinimpersōnālis—
4Latinpersōnālis—
5Latinpersōna—
6Etruscan𐌘𐌄𐌓𐌔𐌖a mask; a masked individual, often performing in...
7Ancient Greekπρόσωπονface, visage, countenance; front; mask
8Ancient Greekὤψto the eye; in the face; eye
9Proto-Hellenicókʷs—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ókʷseye
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ekʷ-to see; eye
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ekʷ- →