Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nullify” come from?

Nullify comes from Middle French nullifier, derived from Latin nullus meaning "not any," itself from Proto-Indo-European ne meaning "not" combined with Latin facio meaning "to make."

nullify (English): To make legally invalid; To prevent from...

Definitions

  1. To make legally invalid; To prevent from...

Ancestry of “nullify”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ifyTo produce verbs meaning "to make"
2Middle English-ifien—
3Old French-ifier—
4Latin-ificoEnlarged form of of -ficō; dative masculine...
5Latin-ficoForms factitive, causative, or other verbs from...
6LatinfacioI do; I make, construct, fashion, frame, build,...
7Proto-Italicfakjōto make
8Proto-Italic*θakjō—
9Proto-Indo-European*dʰh₁k-yé-ti—
10Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁-to do, put, place

Words derived from “nullify”

  • nullifying
  • nullifier
  • nullifiable
  • nullifiest
  • nullifyingly
  • nullifieth
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- →