Where does “quality” come from?
Quality derives from Old French qualité, from Latin qualitatem, formed with the Latin suffix -tas denoting an abstract noun, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -tós.
quality (English): Level of excellence; A property or an attribute...
Definitions
- Level of excellence; A property or an attribute...
Ancestry of “quality”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | qualité | — |
| 2 | Latin | qualitas | quality, property |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | ποιότης | quality |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -τής | Appended to verbs to form agent nouns |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πεῖρα | trial, experiment, attempt |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |