Where does “comencement” come from?
comencement (Old French) comes from Old French comencier, from Vulgar Latin cominitiare, from Latin com-, from Latin con-, from Latin cum, from Old Latin com, from Proto-Italic kom, from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm — to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,...
comencement (Old French): start; beginning
Definitions
- start; beginning
Ancestry of “comencement”, step by step
comencement traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French comencier
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | comencier | to start; to begin |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | cominitiare | present active infinitive of *cominitiō;... |
| 3 | Latin | com- | allomorph of con- |
| 4 | Latin | con- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing... |
| 5 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 6 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 10 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 11 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 12 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 13 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 14 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 16 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |