Where does “inexact” come from?
Inexact comes from French inexact, formed with the French prefix in- (from Latin in-) negating Latin inexactus, a past participle of agere meaning to drive or impel, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ-.
inexact (English): Imperfectly conforming; exceeding or falling...
Definitions
- Imperfectly conforming; exceeding or falling...
Ancestry of “inexact”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | inexact | inexact not exact |
| 2 | French | exact | exact; precise |
| 3 | Middle French | exact | — |
| 4 | Latin | exactus | driven out, expelled, having been driven out;... |
| 5 | Latin | exigō | to drive out; expel |
| 6 | Latin | agō | to act, to behave |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |