Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “utilitarianism” come from?

Utilitarianism derives from English utilitarian, from English utility, from English utile, from French utile, from Latin ūtilis meaning useful, ultimately from Latin ut meaning to use.

utilitarianism (English): A system of ethics based on the premise that...

Definitions

  1. A system of ethics based on the premise that...

Ancestry of “utilitarianism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishutilitarianof or relating to utility; pertaining to...
2English-arianA believer in something; An advocate of...
3English-aryof or pertaining to; adjective suffix appended to...
4Italian-ario-ary; Added to nouns to create attributive...
5Latin-ārium—
6Latin-umnominative neuter singular of -us; accusative...
7Proto-Italic*-om—
8Proto-Indo-European*-oHom—

Words derived from “utilitarianism”

  • antiutilitarianism
  • nonutilitarianism
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *-oHom →