Where does “summary” come from?

Summary derives from Latin summarius, from Latin summa, from Latin summus meaning highest or topmost, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European upo meaning under or up from below.

summary (English): Concise, brief or presented in a condensed form;...

Definitions

  1. Concise, brief or presented in a condensed form;...

Ancestry of “summary”, step by step

summary traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Latin summarius

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsummarius—
2Latinsummatop, summit, highest point or place; the...
3Latinsummushighest, greatest, the most high; top, on top
4Proto-Italicsupemos—
5Proto-Indo-European(s)úp-m̥mo-s—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanupóunder, below
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ewp-—

via Latin summārium

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsummāriumsummary, epitome, abstract
2Latin-āriumused primarily to form nouns of purpose from other nouns, such as places where things are kept or objects used for a particular end
3Latin-umnominative neuter singular of -us; accusative...
4Proto-Italic*-om—
5Proto-Indo-European*-oHom—

Words derived from “summary”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ewp- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European upó →Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)úp-m̥mo-s →