Where does “simplify” come from?
Simplify comes from French simplifier, derived from French simple and Latin -ficare (a suffix meaning "to make"), ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots sem- and pel-.
simplify (English): To make simpler, either by reducing in...
Definitions
- To make simpler, either by reducing in...
Ancestry of “simplify”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | simplifier | to simplify |
| 2 | French | simple | single; simple; one-way |
| 3 | Latin | simplex | single; simple, plain, uncompounded; pure,... |
| 4 | Latin | -plex | -fold |
| 5 | Latin | plicō | to fold, bend or flex; to roll up |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pleḱ- | to fold, plait, weave |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pel- | to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold |