Where does “public opinion” come from?
public opinion (English) comes from English opinion, from Middle English opinion, from Middle French opinion, from Latin opīniō, from Latin -iō, from Proto-West Germanic -jō, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.
public opinion (English): The opinion of the public, the popular view
Definitions
- The opinion of the public, the popular view
Ancestry of “public opinion”, step by step
public opinion traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English opinion
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | opinion | A belief, judgment or perspective that a person... |
| 2 | Middle English | opinion | — |
| 3 | Middle French | opinion | opinion thought, estimation |
| 4 | Latin | opīniō | opinion, conjecture, imagination, fancy, belief, expectation |
| 5 | Latin | -iō | — |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | -jō | Forms agent nouns from verbs |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 9 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English public
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | public | Able to be seen or known by everyone; open to... |
| 2 | Middle English | publik | — |
| 3 | Middle French | public | — |
| 4 | Latin | pūblicus | of or belonging to the people, state, or community |
| 5 | Old Latin | poplicus | Alternative form of publicus |
| 6 | Latin | pōpulus | a people, nation |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | poplos | army |