Where does “absent” come from?
absent (Middle English) comes from Middle French absent, from Old French ausent, from Latin absēns, from Latin absum, from Latin ab-, from Latin āb, from Proto-Germanic *ab, from Proto-Indo-European apó.
Ancestry of “absent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | absent | — |
| 2 | Old French | ausent | — |
| 3 | Latin | absēns | absent, missing, away, away from, distant, gone, gone away |
| 4 | Latin | absum | I am away, I am absent, I am distant |
| 5 | Latin | ab- | from, away, away from; off; at a distance |
| 6 | Latin | āb | from, away from, out of |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | *ab | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | apó | — |