Where does “transcendentalism” come from?
Transcendentalism derives from English transcendental combined with Ancient Greek -ισμός and -μός, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -mós, a suffix forming abstract nouns from verbal roots.
transcendentalism (English): The transcending, or going beyond, empiricism,...
Definitions
- The transcending, or going beyond, empiricism,...
Ancestry of “transcendentalism”, step by step
transcendentalism traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via French transcendantalisme
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | transcendantalisme | transcendentalism |
| 2 | French | -ïsme | -ism, variant of -isme following vowels |
| 3 | Latin | -isma | Alternative form of -ismus; -ism |
| 4 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |
via German transzendental
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | transzendental | transcendental |
| 2 | Latin | trānscendēns | overstepping, surpassing, exceeding, transcending |
| 3 | Latin | transcendo | I climb, pass, cross or step over; I overstep,... |
| 4 | Latin | scandō | to climb, ascend, mount |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱend- | to jump up, ascend |
via English transcendental
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | transcendental | A transcendentalist; Any one of the three... |