Where does “inequality” come from?
Inequality comes from Old French inequalité, from Latin inaequalitas, composed of the prefix in-, the adjective root -alis, the nominalizing suffix -tas, and the negating particle ne ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European h₁én.
inequality (English): An unfair, not equal, state; A statement that of...
Definitions
- An unfair, not equal, state; A statement that of...
Ancestry of “inequality”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | inequalité | — |
| 2 | Latin | inaequalitas | inequality |
| 3 | Latin | inaequālis | unequal |
| 4 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 5 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 6 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |