Where does “vacation” come from?
vacation (Middle English) comes from Anglo-Norman vacacioun, from Old French vacation, from Latin vacatio, from Latin -tiō, from Latin dissertātiō, from Latin dissertus, from Latin disserere, from Latin dis- — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.
Ancestry of “vacation”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anglo-Norman | vacacioun | — |
| 2 | Old French | vacation | — |
| 3 | Latin | vacatio | freedom, exemption, immunity; privilege |
| 4 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 5 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 6 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 7 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 9 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 10 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |