Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “materialism” come from?

Materialism is an English word derived from French matérialisme, ultimately from Latin materia meaning matter combined with the suffix -ia denoting a doctrine or system.

materialism (English): Constant concern over material possessions and...

Definitions

  1. Constant concern over material possessions and...

Ancestry of “materialism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchmatérialismematerialism
2French-isme-ism
3Latin-ismaAlternative form of -ismus; -ism
4Latin-ismus-ism
5Ancient Greek-ισμόςForms abstract nouns
6Ancient Greek-μόςForms abstract nouns
7Proto-Indo-European-mósCreates action/result nouns from verb stems

Words derived from “materialism”

  • materialism
  • postmaterialism
  • antimaterialism
  • nonmaterialism
  • matérialisme
  • Materialismus
  • materializmus
  • მატერიალიზმი
  • materializm
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mós →