Where does “indecision” come from?
Indecision comes from French indécision, formed from the French suffix -ion added to Latin indecisus, meaning undecided or not settled.
indecision (English): The inability to decide on a course of action,...
Definitions
- The inability to decide on a course of action,...
Ancestry of “indecision”, step by step
indecision traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Spanish decisión
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | decisión | decision |
| 2 | Latin | decisio | settlement, agreement, decision; curtailment,... |
| 3 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 4 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 5 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 6 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 8 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 9 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via French indécision
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | indécision | indecision |
| 2 | French | indécis | undecided |
| 3 | Latin | indecisus | — |