Where does “material” come from?

material (Middle French) comes from Old French material, from Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria, from Latin māter, from Proto-Italic mātēr, from Proto-Indo-European méh₂tēr — mother.

Ancestry of “material”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchmaterial—
2Latinmāteriālismaterial (made of matter)
3Latinmāteriamatter; material; component stuff; substance
4Latinmātermother female parent
5Proto-Italicmātērmother
6Proto-Indo-Europeanméh₂tērmother

Words derived from “material”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European méh₂tēr →Every word from Proto-Italic mātēr →Every word from Latin māter →