Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ornamental” come from?

Ornamental comes from English ornament, from Latin ornamentum meaning "equipment or adornment," derived from Latin ordo meaning "order," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂er-.

ornamental (English): Serving as an ornament; having no purpose other...

Definitions

  1. Serving as an ornament; having no purpose other...

Ancestry of “ornamental”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishornamentAn element of decoration; that which embellishes...
2Middle Englishornament—
3Old Frenchornementornament
4Latinornāmentum—
5Latinornō—
6Latinōrdnō—
7Latinōrdō—
8Proto-Italicored(h)-to arrange

Words derived from “ornamental”

  • ornamentally
  • unornamental
  • ornamentalism
  • ornamentalist
  • nonornamental
Every word from Proto-Italic ored(h)- →