Where does “missionary” come from?
Missionary comes from English mission plus the Latin agentive suffix -arius, derived from Latin -alis and -tio, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root mey- meaning to change or exchange.
missionary (English): One who is sent on a mission; A person who...
Definitions
- One who is sent on a mission; A person who...
Ancestry of “missionary”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mission | A set of tasks that fulfills a purpose or duty;... |
| 2 | Latin | missiō | sending, mission |
| 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 |