Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “actual” come from?

actual (Old French) comes from Latin actuālis, from Latin āctus, from Latin agō, from Proto-Italic agō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éǵeti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- — to drive.

Ancestry of “actual”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinactuālis—
2Latināctus—
3Latinagō—
4Proto-Italicagōdrive; push, impel; do, act
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éǵetito be driving
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eǵ-to drive

Words derived from “actual”

  • actual
  • actuality
  • actualization
  • actualize
  • actualism
  • actualist
  • nonactual
  • actualizable
  • actualizer
  • reactualize
  • unactual
  • actualness
  • deactualization
  • unactualizable
  • coactualization
  • actualizational
  • self-actualize
  • self-actualization
  • actual
  • actuel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ- →