Where does “totality” come from?
Totality derives from English total plus the suffix -ity, from French totalité, from Latin totalitas, built on Latin totalis meaning whole, from Proto-Indo-European só meaning self or one.
totality (English): The state of being total; An aggregate quantity...
Definitions
- The state of being total; An aggregate quantity...
Ancestry of “totality”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | total | An amount obtained by the addition of smaller... |
| 2 | Middle English | total | — |
| 3 | Old French | total | — |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | totalis | total |
| 5 | Latin | tōtus | — |
| 6 | Latin | tot | so many |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | toti | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | só | this; that |