Where does “utilitarian” come from?
Utilitarian derives from English utility, from French -ité, from Latin -itas and -ilis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -it-, denoting a quality or state of being useful.
utilitarian (English): of or relating to utility; pertaining to...
Definitions
- of or relating to utility; pertaining to...
Ancestry of “utilitarian”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -arian | A believer in something; An advocate of... |
| 2 | English | -ary | of or pertaining to; adjective suffix appended to... |
| 3 | Italian | -ario | -ary; Added to nouns to create attributive... |
| 4 | Latin | -ārium | used primarily to form nouns of purpose from other nouns, such as places where things are kept or objects used for a particular end |
| 5 | Latin | -um | nominative neuter singular of -us; accusative... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *-om | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | *-oHom | — |