Where does “opposition” come from?
Opposition comes from Middle English opposicioun, from Old French oposicion, from Late Latin oppositio, derived from the Latin verb pono meaning to place or put.
opposition (English): The action of opposing or of being in conflict;...
Definitions
- The action of opposing or of being in conflict;...
Ancestry of “opposition”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | opposicioun | {Astronomical opposition; the state where two... |
| 2 | Old French | oposicion | — |
| 3 | Latin | oppositiō | opposing, opposition |
| 4 | French | opposition | opposition |
| 5 | Late Latin | oppositio | opposing, opposition |
| 6 | Latin | oppono | I set against; I oppose |
| 7 | Latin | ob- | towards; against |
| 8 | Latin | obolus | obolus (Greek coin) |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | ὀβολός | obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and... |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | ὀβελός | a spit, rod; a horizontal line |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | βέλος | missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷélHos | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |