Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “timekeeping” come from?

Timekeeping derives from English time, which comes from Middle English time, from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα, ultimately from Ancient Greek τίθημι meaning to place or set.

timekeeping (English): The measurement of time, or determining what the...

Definitions

  1. The measurement of time, or determining what the...

Ancestry of “timekeeping”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishkeepingconformity or harmony; charge or care;...
2EnglishkeepTo continue in ; not to intermit or fall from; to...
3Middle Englishkepento keep, guard, look after, watch
4Old Englishcēpanto seize, hold, observe
5Proto-West Germanic*kōpijan—
6Proto-Germanickōpijanąto look after, observe; to watch, keep, care for
7Proto-Indo-Europeanǵab-—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵab- →