Where does “surprise” come from?
Surprise comes from Middle English surprise, from Middle French surprise, the past participle of Middle French surprendre, from Old French prendre meaning to take, ultimately from Latin prehendere meaning to seize.
surprise (English): Something unexpected; The feeling that something...
Definitions
- Something unexpected; The feeling that something...
Ancestry of “surprise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | surprise | — |
| 2 | Middle French | surprise | Alternative form of surprinse; feminine singular... |
| 3 | Old French | sorprendre | to surprise; to seize; to take control of; to... |
| 4 | Old French | sur- | over, on top of |
| 5 | Latin | super- | super-; over, above |
| 6 | Latin | super | "accusative" above, on the top of, upon;... |
| 7 | Latin | eks-uper | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | upéri | alternative reconstruction of *upér |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |
Words derived from “surprise”