Where does “opposite” come from?
Opposite comes from Old French oposite, from Latin oppositus, the past participle of oppono meaning to set against, ultimately from Ancient Greek βέλος meaning projectile or pointed object.
opposite (English): Located directly across from something else, or...
Definitions
- Located directly across from something else, or...
Ancestry of “opposite”, step by step
opposite traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English opposit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | opposit | contrary or opposed in location or direction; on... |
| 2 | Latin | oppositus | opposing; intervention; opposite; against |
| 3 | Latin | oppono | I set against; I oppose |
| 4 | Latin | ob- | towards; against |
| 5 | Latin | obolus | obolus (Greek coin) |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ὀβολός | obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | ὀβελός | a spit, rod; a horizontal line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | βέλος | missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷélHos | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |
via Old French oposite
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | oposite | — |