Where does “improvise” come from?
Improvise comes from French improviser, from Latin improvisus meaning "unforeseen," composed of the prefix in- and the root related to Proto-Indo-European bʰuH- meaning "to grow or become."
improvise (English): To make something up or invent it as one goes on;...
Definitions
- To make something up or invent it as one goes on;...
Ancestry of “improvise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | improviser | to improvise |
| 2 | Italian | improvvisare | to improvise, to extemporize, to make up, to play... |
| 3 | Italian | improvviso | unexpected, sudden, unforeseen, untimely;... |
| 4 | Latin | improvisus | unforeseen, unexpected; sudden |
| 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 |