Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “moratorium” come from?

Moratorium comes from Late Latin moratorium, derived from Latin moratorius meaning "delaying," from Latin moror "to delay," from Latin mora "delay," from Proto-Indo-European mere and (s)mer-.

moratorium (English): An authorization to a debtor, permitting...

Definitions

  1. An authorization to a debtor, permitting...

Ancestry of “moratorium”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmorātōrium—
2LatinmororI linger, loiter; I delay, hinder; I am a fool
3Ancient Greekμωρόςslow, sluggish; slow, dull, foolish, stupid;...
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanmuHrósdull, stupid

Words derived from “moratorium”

  • moratoria
Every word from Proto-Indo-European muHrós →