Where does “noncommittal” come from?
Noncommittal derives from English committal, which comes from English commit, ultimately from Latin com meaning "together," combined with English nine through the prefix non-.
noncommittal (English): Tending to avoid commitment; lacking certainty or...
Definitions
- Tending to avoid commitment; lacking certainty or...
Ancestry of “noncommittal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | committal | The act of entrusting something to someone; The... |
| 2 | English | committee | A body of one or more persons convened for the... |
| 3 | English | commit | To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping;... |
| 4 | Middle English | committen | to entrust |
| 5 | Latin | committo | I commit; I begin; I carry on |
| 6 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 7 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 8 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 12 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 13 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 14 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 15 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 16 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 17 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 18 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |