Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “operatif” come from?

operatif (Middle French) comes from Latin operativus, from Latin operō, from Latin Opus, from Ancient Greek Ὀποῦς, from Ancient Greek ὀπός, from Proto-Indo-European sokʷós, from Proto-Indo-European sekʷ- — to follow; to see; to say.

Ancestry of “operatif”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinoperativuscreative, formative
2Latinoperō—
3LatinOpus—
4Ancient GreekὈποῦς—
5Ancient Greekὀπόςjuice, vegetable/plant juice; fig-juice
6Proto-Indo-Europeansokʷósjuice of plants
7Proto-Indo-Europeansekʷ-to follow; to see; to say
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sekʷ- →