Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “optimist” come from?

Optimist comes from French optimiste, from Latin optimus meaning "best," derived from Latin bonus meaning "good," from Latin duonus, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European h₃ep- and dew-.

optimist (English): a person who expects a favourable outcome; a...

Definitions

  1. a person who expects a favourable outcome; a...

Ancestry of “optimist”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchoptimisteoptimist; optimistic
2Frenchoptimismeoptimism
3Latinoptimusbest; very good
4LatinOpsearth goddess, fertility deity
5Latinoscenany bird by whose song cries augurs divined...
6Latinopscen—
7Latinob-towards; against
8Latinobolusobolus
9Ancient Greekὀβολόςobol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and...
10Ancient Greekὀβελόςa spit, rod; a horizontal line
11Ancient Greekβέλοςmissile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly...
12Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷélHos—
13Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷelH-to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing

Words derived from “optimist”

  • optimistic
  • optimistically
  • overoptimistic
  • overoptimistically
  • unoptimistic
  • superoptimistic
  • hyperoptimistic
  • cyberoptimist
  • unoptimistically
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- →