Where does “inelegant” come from?
Inelegant comes from Middle French inélégant, from Latin inelegans, composed of the Latin negating prefix in- and the past participle elegans, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ne.
inelegant (English): Not elegant; not exhibiting neatness, refinement,...
Definitions
- Not elegant; not exhibiting neatness, refinement,...
Ancestry of “inelegant”, step by step
inelegant traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle French inélégant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | inélégant | — |
| 2 | Latin | inelegans | inelegant |
| 3 | Latin | ēlegāns | fine, elegant, handsome |
| 4 | Latin | ēligere | — |
| 5 | Latin | ēligō | to choose, to pluck or root out, extract |
| 6 | Latin | legō | to collect, gather, bring together, catch |
| 7 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |