Where does “instrument” come from?
instrument (Middle Dutch) comes from Old French instrument, from Latin īnstrūmentum, from Latin -mentum, from Latin -menta, from Proto-Indo-European -mn̥ — Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs.
Ancestry of “instrument”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | instrument | — |
| 2 | Latin | īnstrūmentum | An instrument, tool, utensil |
| 3 | Latin | -mentum | instrument, medium, or result of; e.g.... |
| 4 | Latin | -menta | nominative plural of -mentum; accusative plural... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -mn̥ | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs |