Where does “reason” come from?
Reason comes from Middle English resoun, from Anglo-Norman raisun, from Latin ratio meaning "calculation" or "reckoning," derived from the root of Latin reor meaning "to think" or "to believe."
reason (English): A cause
Definitions
- A cause
Ancestry of “reason”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | resoun | resound; reason |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | raisun | Alternative form of reson |
| 3 | Old French | reson | logic, logical reasoning |
| 4 | Latin | ratiō | reason, reasoning, explanation, ground, motive, rationality, rationale, purpose |
| 5 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 6 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 7 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 8 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 9 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 10 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 11 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |