Where does “ineffective” come from?
Ineffective comes from French ineffectif, from Latin ineffectivus, combining in- (not) with effectivus (productive of results), derived from ex- (out) and facere (to make).
ineffective (English): not having the desired effect; ineffectual;...
Definitions
- not having the desired effect; ineffectual;...
Ancestry of “ineffective”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | effective | Having the power to produce a required effect or... |
| 2 | English | effect | The result or outcome of a cause; Impression left... |
| 3 | Middle English | effect | — |
| 4 | Old French | effect | effect; judgment; decree |
| 5 | Latin | effectus | made out, worked out, completed, finished,... |
| 6 | Latin | efficiō | to make out or work out; effect, execute, complete, accomplish, make, form, compose |
| 7 | Latin | ex | A name of the letter "X"; out of, from |
| 8 | Latin | commūnicō | to impart, share |
| 9 | Latin | commūnis | common, commonplace, ordinary, general, universal, shared, shared alike, of both sides, belonging to two or more together |
| 10 | Old Latin | com(m)oinis | — |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | kommoinis | common |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱom-moy-ni- | held in common |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 15 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 16 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 17 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 18 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 19 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |