Where does “infect” come from?
Infect comes from Middle French infect, from Latin infectus (past participle of inficio, to put in or taint), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to make or place.
infect (English): To bring into contact with a substance that...
Definitions
- To bring into contact with a substance that...
Ancestry of “infect”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | infect | — |
| 2 | Latin | infectus | not done, undone; unfinished; impossible |
| 3 | Latin | īnficiō | to dip, to dunk, to submerge |
| 4 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 5 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 6 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 7 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |