Where does “modus operandi” come from?
modus operandi (Italian) comes from Latin modus operandī, from Latin operandi, from Latin operandus, from Latin opero, from Latin opus, from Proto-Indo-European h₃ep-os-, from Proto-Indo-European h₃ep- — to work, toil, make; ability, force.
modus operandi (Italian): modus operandi
Ancestry of “modus operandi”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | modus operandī | — |
| 2 | Latin | operandi | nominative masculine plural of operandus;... |
| 3 | Latin | operandus | which is to be worked |
| 4 | Latin | opero | I work |
| 5 | Latin | opus | work, accomplishment; workmanship, artwork, work;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ep-os- | work |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ep- | to work, toil, make; ability, force |