Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “infidelity” come from?

Infidelity comes from Middle French infidélité, from Latin infidelitas (unfaithfulness), formed with the suffix -tas from in- (not) and a root from Proto-Indo-European bʰeydʰ- (to trust).

infidelity (English): Unfaithfulness in a marriage or an intimate...

Definitions

  1. Unfaithfulness in a marriage or an intimate...

Ancestry of “infidelity”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchinfidélité—
2Latininfidelitasunfaithfulness, faithlessness, infidelity
3Latinīnfidēlis—
4Latinfidēlis—
5Latinfidēs—
6Proto-Italicfeiðosfaithful, reliable
7Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeydʰos—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeydʰ-to compel, force; to trust
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeydʰ- →