Where does “momentous” come from?
Momentous derives from Middle English moment, Old French -eux, and Latin -osus, -mentum, and moveo meaning "to move," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mew-.
momentous (English): Outstanding in importance, of great consequence
Definitions
- Outstanding in importance, of great consequence
Ancestry of “momentous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | moment | A brief, unspecified amount of time; The smallest... |
| 2 | Middle English | moment | — |
| 3 | Old French | moment | — |
| 4 | Latin | mōmentum | movement, motion, impulse; course |
| 5 | Latin | mōvimentum | movement |
| 6 | Latin | -mentum | instrument, medium, or result of; e.g.... |
| 7 | Latin | -menta | nominative plural of -mentum; accusative plural... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -mn̥ | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs |