Where does “unnecessarily” come from?
Unnecessarily derives from English unnecessary, itself from Latin necessārius (needed), composed of Latin ne- (not) and Latin cessāre (to cease), ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots meaning restraint and obligation.
unnecessarily (English): In an unnecessary way; not by necessity; To an...
Definitions
- In an unnecessary way; not by necessity; To an...
Ancestry of “unnecessarily”, step by step
unnecessarily traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English necessarily
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | necessarily | Inevitably; of necessity |
| 2 | English | necessary | Required, essential, whether logically... |
| 3 | Middle English | necessarye | — |
| 4 | Old French | necessaire | — |
| 5 | Latin | necessārius | unavoidable, inevitable |
| 6 | Latin | necesse | unavoidable, "particularly" |
| 7 | Latin | cessus | conceded, given up, granted, surrendered,... |
| 8 | Latin | cēdō | to go, move, proceed, go along, move along |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kedō | give here! |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | ke | here |
| 11 | Indo-European | *ḱe | — |
via English unnecessary
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | unnecessary | Not needed or necessary; Done in addition to... |
| 2 | English | Un- | not |
| 3 | Middle English | un- | — |
| 4 | Old English | un- | negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | n̥- | not, un- |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ne | not |