Where does “survey” come from?
Survey comes from Middle English surveyen, from Old French sourveoir, from Latin supervideo meaning to oversee, ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root weyd- meaning to see.
survey (English): The act of surveying; a general view; A...
Definitions
- The act of surveying; a general view; A...
Ancestry of “survey”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | surveyen | to oversee; to survey |
| 2 | Old French | sourveoir | to oversee; to survey |
| 3 | Old French | sur- | over, on top of |
| 4 | Latin | super- | super-; over, above |
| 5 | Latin | super | "accusative" above, on the top of, upon;... |
| 6 | Latin | eks-uper | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | upéri | alternative reconstruction of *upér |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |