Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “modernity” come from?

Modernity derives from Middle French moderne, from Latin modernus, with the abstract noun suffix -itas denoting a state or quality, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -it-.

modernity (English): The quality of being modern or contemporary;...

Definitions

  1. The quality of being modern or contemporary;...

Ancestry of “modernity”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ityUsed to form a noun from an adjective;...
2Middle English-ite—
3Old French-ité-ity
4Latin-itās—
5Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
6Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
7Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “modernity”

  • postmodernity
  • premodernity
  • hypermodernity
  • antimodernity
  • nonmodernity
  • ultramodernity
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tós →