Where does “tentatively” come from?
Tentatively comes from English tentative, from French tentatif, from Latin tentativus derived from Latin tento meaning to try or test, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm.
tentatively (English): Of, or having to do with being tentative
Definitions
- Of, or having to do with being tentative
Ancestry of “tentatively”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -ly | Used to form adjectives from nouns, the... |
| 2 | English | grisly | Horrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying;... |
| 3 | Middle English | grisely | — |
| 4 | Old English | grisliċ | grisly, horrible; dreadful, horrid |
| 5 | Old English | -līċ | suffix forming {{glossary|adjective}}s meaning... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *-līk | — |