Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “partial” come from?

Partial comes from Middle English parcial, from Old French parcial, from Latin -alis (a suffix forming adjectives) derived from Proto-Indo-European per- and pr̥tós.

partial (English): existing as a part or portion; incomplete;...

Definitions

  1. existing as a part or portion; incomplete;...

Ancestry of “partial”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishpartiall—
2Old Frenchparcialbiased or particular
3Late Latinpartialisof or pertaining to a part; of, or pertaining to,...
4Latinparspart, side, piece, share; some; faction
5Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “partial”

  • partially
  • partialist
  • semipartial
  • partialness
  • partialism
  • unpartial
  • partialize
  • nonpartial
  • subpartial
  • partial false friend
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →