Where does “responsibility” come from?
Responsibility is derived from English responsible combined with the French suffix -ité, which comes from Latin -itas, ultimately traced to Proto-Indo-European -it-.
responsibility (English): The state of being responsible, accountable, or...
Definitions
- The state of being responsible, accountable, or...
Ancestry of “responsibility”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | responsible | Having the duty of taking care of something;... |
| 2 | Middle French | responsable | — |
| 3 | Old French | responsable | — |
| 4 | Latin | respōnsus | replied |
| 5 | Latin | respondeō | to reply, answer, respond |
| 6 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 7 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 8 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |