Where does “perfectionist” come from?
Perfectionist comes from English perfection, from Latin perfectio derived from the suffix -tio, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots -idyé-, -tis, and -yéti.
perfectionist (English): Someone who is unwilling to settle for anything...
Definitions
- Someone who is unwilling to settle for anything...
Ancestry of “perfectionist”, step by step
perfectionist traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English perfection
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | perfection | The quality or state of being perfect or... |
| 2 | Old French | perfection | — |
| 3 | Latin | perfectio | finishing, completion; perfection |
| 4 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 5 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 6 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 7 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 9 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 10 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via French perfectionniste
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | perfectionniste | perfectionist (person) |
| 2 | French | -iste | -ist; -istic |