Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “non-binary” come from?

non-binary (English) comes from English binary, from Late Latin binarius, from Latin bīnī, from Latin bis, from Latin color, from Ancient Greek μέτρον, from Ancient Greek -τρον, from Proto-Hellenic -tron — Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

non-binary (English): Not binary; Having or pertaining to a gender...

Definitions

  1. Not binary; Having or pertaining to a gender...

Ancestry of “non-binary”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbinaryBeing in a state of one of two mutually exclusive...
2Late Latinbinariusconsisting of two; Containing or consisting of...
3Latinbīnī—
4Latinbistwice, two times, on two occasions, in two ways
5Latincolorcolour, shade; color; pigment; complexion
6Ancient Greekμέτρονsomething used to measure: measure, rule, weight;...
7Ancient Greek-τρονForms instrument nouns
8Proto-Hellenic-tronForms instrument nouns from verb stems
9Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
10Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr →