Where does “incidentally” come from?
Incidentally derives from English incidental, from English incident, from Latin incidens meaning "falling upon," from incidere, from the prefix in- meaning "into."
incidentally (English): In an incidental manner; not of central or...
Definitions
- In an incidental manner; not of central or...
Ancestry of “incidentally”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | incidental | Loosely associated; existing as a byproduct,... |
| 2 | English | incident | An event or occurrence; A event that is... |
| 3 | Middle French | incident | — |
| 4 | Old French | incident | — |
| 5 | Latin | incidens | falling upon; cutting up, hewing open;... |
| 6 | Latin | incidere | present active infinitive of incidō;... |
| 7 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 8 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 9 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |