Where does “visionary” come from?
Visionary derives from English vision plus the Latin agentive suffix -arius, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European weyd- meaning to see.
visionary (English): having vision or foresight; imaginary or...
Definitions
- having vision or foresight; imaginary or...
Ancestry of “visionary”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ary | of or pertaining to; adjective suffix appended to... |
| 2 | Italian | -ario | -ary; Added to nouns to create attributive... |
| 3 | 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 |
| 4 | Latin | -um | nominative neuter singular of -us; accusative... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | *-om | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | *-oHom | — |