Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “versatility” come from?

Versatility comes from French -ité and Latin -itas (suffix forming abstract nouns) attached to Latin versus, from vertere meaning "to turn," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer-.

versatility (English): The property of being versatile or having many...

Definitions

  1. The property of being versatile or having many...

Ancestry of “versatility”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishversatileCapable of doing many things competently; Having...
2Latinversātilis—
3Latinversātus—
4Latinversō—
5Latinvertō—
6Proto-Italicwertō—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwert-to turn, to rotate
8Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →