Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “structure” come from?

Structure comes from Middle French structure, from Latin structura, derived from the Latin verb struo meaning to build or arrange, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ster-.

structure (English): A cohesive whole built up of distinct parts; The...

Definitions

  1. A cohesive whole built up of distinct parts; The...

Ancestry of “structure”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchstructure—
2Latinstructūra—
3Latinstruō—
4Proto-Italicstrowōpile up; construct, build
5Proto-Indo-Europeanstrew-to spread, to strew
6Proto-Indo-Europeansterh₃-to spread, extend, stretch out
7Proto-Indo-Europeanster-sterile, infertile

Words derived from “structure”

  • structures
  • structural
  • structurally
  • superstructure
  • struct
  • microstructure
  • restructure
  • structuralist
  • structuralism
  • poststructuralist
  • substructure
  • poststructuralism
  • microstructural
  • ultrastructural
  • structuration
  • ultrastructure
  • nanostructure
  • structureless
  • nonstructural
  • poststructural
  • heterostructure
  • macrostructure
  • superstructural
  • macrostructural
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ster- →