Where does “facultative” come from?

facultative (French) comes from French facultatif, from French -if, from Middle French -if, from Old French -if, from Latin -īvus, from Proto-Indo-European -iHwós, from Proto-Indo-European -wós — Creates adjectives from verb stems.

facultative (French): feminine singular of facultatif

Definitions

  1. feminine singular of facultatif

Ancestry of “facultative”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchfacultatifoptional, elective; not mandatory; facultative
2French-if-ive; used in forming adjectives denoting...
3Middle French-if-ive
4Old French-if-ive
5Latin-īvusAdjective suffix
6Proto-Indo-European-iHwós—
7Proto-Indo-European-wósCreates adjectives from verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -wós →Every word from Latin -īvus →Every word from French -if →