Where does “nation” come from?
nation (Middle French) comes from Old French nacion, from Latin nātiō, from Latin nātus, from Latin gnātus, from Proto-Italic gnātos, from Proto-Indo-European ǵn̥h₁tós, from Proto-Indo-European ǵenh₁- — to produce, to beget, to give birth.
nation (Middle French): nation
Ancestry of “nation”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | nacion | birth; nation |
| 2 | Latin | nātiō | — |
| 3 | Latin | nātus | — |
| 4 | Latin | gnātus | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | gnātos | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵn̥h₁tós | begotten, produced |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵenh₁- | to produce, to beget, to give birth |
Words derived from “nation”