Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “insecure” come from?

Insecure comes from Latin insecurus, formed from the prefix in- and securus meaning "free from care," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots ne and oyd-.

insecure (English): Not secure; Not comfortable or confident in...

Definitions

  1. Not secure; Not comfortable or confident in...

Ancestry of “insecure”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsecureFree from attack or danger; protected; Free from...
2Middle Englishsecuritesecurity, safety; comfort, the state of being...
3Middle Frenchsecurité—
4Latinsēcūritās—
5Latinsēcūrus—
6Latinsē-—
7Latinsexsix; 6
8Proto-Italicsekssix
9Proto-Indo-Europeanswéḱssix

Words derived from “insecure”

  • insecurity
  • insecurely
  • insecureness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swéḱs →