Where does “inform” come from?
Inform comes from Old French enfourmer, from Latin informo meaning to shape or form, derived from Latin in- combined with Ancient Greek μορφή meaning form, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning not and being.
inform (English): To instruct, train; To communicate knowledge to;...
Definitions
- To instruct, train; To communicate knowledge to;...
Ancestry of “inform”, step by step
inform traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French informe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | informe | first-person singular present indicative of... |
| 2 | Latin | informis | formless, shapeless; deformed; hideous, ugly |
| 3 | Latin | in- -is | less, without, lacking |
| 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 |