Where does “substance” come from?
Substance comes from Old French substance, from Latin substantia, derived from the present participle substans of substare, meaning "to stand under," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European steh₂-, "to stand."
substance (English): Physical matter; material; The essential part of...
Definitions
- Physical matter; material; The essential part of...
Ancestry of “substance”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | substance | essence |
| 2 | Old French | substance | most essential; substantial part; existence |
| 3 | Latin | substantia | substance, essence, material, contents; fortune,... |
| 4 | Latin | substāns | — |
| 5 | Latin | substō | to hold out, to stand firm |
| 6 | Latin | sub | under, beneath; behind; at the feet of |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | supo | under |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |