Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “occupy” come from?

I need to examine this chain carefully, as it appears to contain issues. The chain shows: - Middle English occupyen → Old French occuper → Latin occupo → Latin capio → PIE keh₂p- → Ancient Greek ὀβολός → PIE keh₂p- → Ancient Greek βέλος Problems I notice: 1. The chain loops back (PIE keh₂p- appears twice, with Greek words between) 2. Ancient Greek ὀβολός (obolós, a coin) and βέλος (bélos, missile/dart) don't fit the semantic development of "occupy" 3. This doesn't represent a coherent etymological chain However, following the instruction to "state only what the chain supports," I should note that a chain with circular references and semantic breaks cannot be accurately summarized. The legitimate path would be: Middle English occupyen

occupy (English): To take or use; To take or use space; To have...

Definitions

  1. To take or use; To take or use space; To have...

Ancestry of “occupy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishoccupien—
2Old Frenchoccuper—
3Latinoccupāre—
4Latincapiō—
5Proto-Italickapiōtake
6Proto-Italickapjōtake, seize
7Proto-Indo-Europeankh₂pyéti—
8Proto-Indo-Europeankeh₂p-to seize, grab; to seize; take up; lift; to take,...

Words derived from “occupy”

  • occupying
  • occupier
  • preoccupy
  • reoccupy
  • occupiable
  • occupieth
  • nonoccupying
  • occupiest
  • reoccupier
  • nonoccupier
Every word from Proto-Indo-European keh₂p- →