Where does “pessimism” come from?
Pessimism comes from French pessimisme, derived from Latin pessimus meaning "worst," from Latin malus meaning "bad," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mel- and mey-.
pessimism (English): A general belief that bad things will happen; The...
Definitions
- A general belief that bad things will happen; The...
Ancestry of “pessimism”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | German | Pessimismus | pessimism |
| 2 | French | pessimisme | pessimism |
| 3 | French | -ïsme | -ism, variant of -isme following vowels |
| 4 | Latin | -isma | Alternative form of -ismus; -ism |
| 5 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |
Words derived from “pessimism”