Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “oppose” come from?

Oppose comes from Middle English opposen, from Old French opposer, from Latin ob meaning "against" combined with a root from Proto-Indo-European h₁epi and h₁eps.

oppose (English): To attempt to stop the progression of; to resist...

Definitions

  1. To attempt to stop the progression of; to resist...

Ancestry of “oppose”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishopposen—
2Old Frenchopposer—
3Latinobin the direction of, to, towards; on account of,...
4Proto-Italic*op—

Words derived from “oppose”

  • opposing
  • opposer
  • opposable
  • opposeth
  • appose
  • opposability
  • unopposable
  • opposingly
  • unopposing
  • opposeless
  • opposest
  • opposal
  • nonopposing
  • apposable
  • reoppose
  • nonopposable
  • opposably
  • apposer
Every word from Proto-Italic *op →