Where does “irrelevant” come from?
Irrelevant comes from English relevant with the Latin prefix ir-, from Latin in- and Latin in, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ- meaning "light" and wer- meaning "to turn."
irrelevant (English): Not related, not applicable, unimportant, not...
Definitions
- Not related, not applicable, unimportant, not...
Ancestry of “irrelevant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | relevant | Directly related, connected, or pertinent to a... |
| 2 | Old French | relevant | assisting |
| 3 | Latin | relevāns | — |
| 4 | Latin | relevō | to raise, lift up |
| 5 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 6 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 7 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |