Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “actual” come from?

actual (Middle English) comes from Anglo-Norman actuel, from Old French actual, from Latin actuālis, from Latin āctus, from Latin agō, from Proto-Italic agō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éǵeti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- — to drive.

Ancestry of “actual”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Normanactuel—
2Old Frenchactual—
3Latinactuālis—
4Latināctus—
5Latinagō—
6Proto-Italicagōdrive; push, impel; do, act
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éǵetito be driving
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eǵ-to drive

Words derived from “actual”

  • actual
  • actuality
  • actualization
  • actualize
  • actualism
  • actualist
  • nonactual
  • actualizable
  • actualizer
  • reactualize
  • unactual
  • actualness
  • deactualization
  • unactualizable
  • coactualization
  • self-actualization
  • actualizational
  • self-actualize
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- →