Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unchastity” come from?

Unchastity comes from English chastity, which derives from Latin castus meaning pure, itself traced through Proto-Indo-European óynos and ultimately to the root h₂ent-.

unchastity (English): The quality or state of being unchaste; lewdness;...

Definitions

  1. The quality or state of being unchaste; lewdness;...

Ancestry of “unchastity”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishchastityThe quality of being chaste: the state of...
2Middle Englishchastite—
3Old Frenchchasteté—
4Latincastitaspurity; morality; chastity
5Latincastusmorally pure, guiltless; pure, chaste, free from...
6Latincareō—
7Proto-Italickazēōto lack
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱes-éh₁-ye-ti—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanḱes-to cut off, separate; to cut up, to slaughter; to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱes- →