Where does “understate” come from?
Understate comes from English under- plus state, which derives from Latin status, the past participle of sto meaning to stand, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European steh₂-.
understate (English): To state with less completeness than needed; to...
Definitions
- To state with less completeness than needed; to...
Ancestry of “understate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | State | A current governing polity; The current governing... |
| 2 | Middle English | stat | condition |
| 3 | Old French | estat | state; government; condition |
| 4 | Latin | stātus | fixed, set, having been set |
| 5 | Latin | stō | to stand |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | staēō | stand |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sth₂éh₁yeti | to stand |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | *steh₂- | — |