Where does “suffice” come from?
Suffice derives from Middle English suffisen, from Middle French souffire, from Latin sufficio (to supply or be adequate), composed of Latin sub- (under) and facio (to make or do), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- (to put or place).
suffice (English): To be enough or sufficient; to meet the need (of anything); to be adequate; to be good enough
Definitions
- To be enough or sufficient; to meet the need (of anything); to be adequate; to be good enough
Ancestry of “suffice”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | suffisen | to be adequate for some purpose or need, to suffice, to be enough (+ for, to, unto, or til: for (something) or for (someone’s) needs; + to: to (do something); + of: regarding, on (some subject)) |
| 2 | Middle French | souffire | — |
| 3 | Latin | sufficiō | to supply, provide, afford, give, fill, imbue, furnish, yield, produce |
| 4 | Latin | faciō | to do |
| 5 | Latin | -torium | nominative neuter singular of -tōrius; accusative... |
| 6 | Latin | -tōrius | ory |
| 7 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |