Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “opacity” come from?

Opacity derives from Middle French opaque, from Latin opacus meaning shaded or dark, with the abstract noun suffix Latin -itas, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -it-.

opacity (English): The state or quality of being opaque, not...

Definitions

  1. The state or quality of being opaque, not...

Ancestry of “opacity”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishopaqueNeither reflecting nor emitting light; Allowing...
2Frenchopacitéopacity; opaqueness
3Latinopacitasshadiness, shade
4Latin-tās—
5Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
6Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
7Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “opacity”

  • radiopacity
  • radioopacity
  • nonopacity
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tós →