Where does “insignificance” come from?
Insignificance derives from Middle English in-, from Latin in- (not), from Latin in (in), from Proto-Indo-European ne (not), oyd- (to see), en (in), and en (in).
insignificance (English): the state of being insignificant
Definitions
- the state of being insignificant
Ancestry of “insignificance”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | significance | The extent to which something matters;... |
| 2 | French | signification | meaning; definition; signification |
| 3 | Latin | significatio | signal, sign, mark, token; applause; meaning,... |
| 4 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 5 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 6 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 7 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 9 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 10 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |