Where does “resourcefulness” come from?
Resourcefulness comes from English resourceful plus the Old English suffix -nes, derived from English resource, which traces to Latin resurgo meaning "to rise again," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁-.
resourcefulness (English): the ability to cope with difficult situations, or...
Definitions
- the ability to cope with difficult situations, or...
Ancestry of “resourcefulness”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | resourceful | Capable or clever; able to put available... |
| 2 | English | resource | Something that one uses to achieve an objective,... |
| 3 | Middle French | ressource | — |
| 4 | Old French | resourse | — |
| 5 | Old French | resourdre | to spring up |
| 6 | Latin | resurgō | to rise again |
| 7 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 8 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 9 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |