Where does “information” come from?
Information comes from Middle English informacion, from Old French enformation, meaning the action of informing or shaping the mind.
information (English): That which resolves uncertainty; anything that...
Definitions
- That which resolves uncertainty; anything that...
Ancestry of “information”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | enformacioun | Teaching, education; the dissemination of knowledge |
| 2 | Latin | īnfōrmātiō | sketch, idea, conception |
| 3 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 4 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 5 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 6 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 8 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 9 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |