Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “states” come from?

State derives from Latin status, the past participle of stāre meaning "to stand," which traces to Proto-Indo-European steh₂-, the root for standing or being in position.

states (English): plural of state; Third-person singular simple...

Definitions

  1. plural of state; Third-person singular simple...

Ancestry of “states”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishstateA condition; a set of circumstances applying at...
2Old Frenchestatstate; government; condition
3Latinstātus—
4Latinstō—
5Proto-Italicstaēōstand
6Proto-Indo-Europeansth₂éh₁yeti—
7Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- →