Where does “inefficient” come from?
Inefficient comes from Middle English in- plus efficient, ultimately from Latin inefficiens, combining Latin in- (not) with efficiens (accomplishing), derived from Latin in (into) and a root meaning to work or produce.
inefficient (English): Not efficient; not producing the effect intended...
Definitions
- Not efficient; not producing the effect intended...
Ancestry of “inefficient”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | in- | in, into, towards, within; in, into; Used with... |
| 2 | Middle English | in- | — |
| 3 | Old English | in- | in, into; on, upon; internal, positioned on the... |
| 4 | Old English | in | in; Alternative form of inn |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *in | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | in | in; into |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | én | in |
Words derived from “inefficient”