Where does “optimal” come from?
optimal (Indonesian) comes from Dutch optimaal, from English optimal, from Latin optimum, from Latin optimus, from Latin Ops, from Latin oscen, from Latin opscen, from Latin ob- — to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing.
optimal (Indonesian): optimal, optimum
Definitions
- optimal, optimum
Ancestry of “optimal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | optimaal | optimal |
| 2 | English | optimal | The best, most favourable or desirable,... |
| 3 | Latin | optimum | accusative masculine singular of optimus;... |
| 4 | Latin | optimus | best; very good |
| 5 | Latin | Ops | earth goddess, fertility deity |
| 6 | Latin | oscen | any bird by whose song cries augurs divined... |
| 7 | Latin | opscen | — |
| 8 | Latin | ob- | towards; against |
| 9 | Latin | obolus | obolus (Greek coin) |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | ὀβολός | obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and... |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | ὀβελός | a spit, rod; a horizontal line |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | βέλος | missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly... |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷélHos | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |