Where does “underachievement” come from?
Underachievement derives from English under- combined with achievement, which comes from Middle English -ment suffix via Old French -ment and Latin -mentum, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "to" and "head."
underachievement (English): An achievement that is less than expected;...
Definitions
- An achievement that is less than expected;...
Ancestry of “underachievement”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | achievement | The act of achieving or performing; a successful... |
| 2 | Middle French | achevement | — |
| 3 | Old French | achevement | act of finishing, of ending; accomplishment;... |
| 4 | Old French | achever | — |
| 5 | Latin | accapāre | finish |
| 6 | Latin | Ad | toward, to |
| 7 | Latin | illic | he, she, it, yonder, that, overthere; in that... |
| 8 | Latin | ille | that; those; "; demonstrative pronoun "; that... |
| 9 | Latin | olle | Archaic form of ille |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | *olnos | that |