Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “politic” come from?

Politic derives from Middle French politique, from Latin politicus, from Greek πολιτικός, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root tpelH- meaning to spread or unfold.

politic (English): Of or relating to polity, or civil government;...

Definitions

  1. Of or relating to polity, or civil government;...

Ancestry of “politic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchpolitique—
2Latinpolīticus—
3Swedishpolitiskpolitical, having to do with politics
4Swedishpolitikpolitics
5Ancient Greekπολιτικόςcivic, constitutional, public; social
6Ancient Greekπολῑ́τηςcitizen
7Ancient Greek-τηςForms nouns representing a state of being; Added...
8Proto-Hellenic-tāts—
9Proto-Indo-European-teh₂tsUsed to form nouns representing state of being
10Proto-Indo-European-teh₂Used to form nouns representing state of being
11Proto-Indo-European-tósCreates verbal adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “politic”

  • political
  • politics
  • politically
  • politician
  • geopolitical
  • sociopolitical
  • politique
  • politicization
  • apolitical
  • geopolitics
  • impolitic
  • nonpolitical
  • politicking
  • biopolitical
  • biopolitics
  • politicize
  • depoliticization
  • micropolitics
  • depoliticize
  • geopolitically
  • unpolitical
  • politick
  • ethnopolitical
  • micropolitical
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tós →