Where does “-ment” come from?

-ment (Middle English) comes from Old French -ment, from Latin -mentum, from Latin -menta, from Proto-Indo-European -mn̥ — Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs.

-ment (Middle English): Forms nouns denoting a result or action from...

Definitions

  1. Forms nouns denoting a result or action from...

Ancestry of “-ment”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old French-mentUsed to form adverbs, most of the time equivalent...
2Latin-mentuminstrument, medium, or result of; e.g....
3Latin-mentanominative plural of -mentum; accusative plural...
4Proto-Indo-European-mn̥Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs

Words derived from “-ment”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mn̥ →Every word from Latin -mentum →Every word from Old French -ment →
-ment — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer