Where does “accidental” come from?
accidental (Middle English) comes from Middle French accidentel, from Late Latin accidentalis, from Latin accidēns, from Latin accidō, from Latin ad-, from Latin īn-, from Latin în, from Latin en — in.
Ancestry of “accidental”, step by step
accidental traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle French accidentel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | accidentel | — |
| 2 | Late Latin | accidentalis | — |
| 3 | Latin | accidēns | falling down, upon, at or near, descending |
| 4 | Latin | accidō | to fall down, upon, at or near; descend |
| 5 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 6 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 7 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 8 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
via Anglo-Norman accidentel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anglo-Norman | accidentel | — |