Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “definen” come from?

definen (Middle English) comes from Old French definer, from Latin dēfīniō, from Latin dē-, from Latin dē, from Latin post, from Latin poste, from Proto-Italic posti, from Proto-Indo-European pósti — afterwards, post; by, at.

Ancestry of “definen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchdefinerto finish; to end
2Latindēfīniō—
3Latindē-—
4Latindē—
5Latinpostbehind; after, since, besides, except; behind,...
6Latinposteablative singular of postis
7Proto-Italicposti—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpósti—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpósafterwards, post; by, at

Words derived from “definen”

  • define
  • redefine
  • indefinable
  • definable
  • undefinable
  • definer
  • indefinably
  • definability
  • predefine
  • undefinably
  • definably
  • undefine
  • interdefinable
  • interdefinability
  • defineth
  • definement
  • indefinableness
  • nondefinable
  • redefinable
  • redefiner
  • codefine
  • misdefine
  • overdefine
  • definee
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pós →