Where does “interest” come from?
interest (Old French) comes from French intérêt, from Medieval Latin interesse, from Latin interesse, from Latin esse, from Ancient Greek οὐσία, from Ancient Greek εἰμί, from Proto-Hellenic ehmi, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ésmi — to be.
Ancestry of “interest”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | intérêt | interest; point |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | interesse | present active infinitive of intersum; to... |
| 3 | Latin | interesse | present active infinitive of intersum; to... |
| 4 | Latin | esse | present infinitive of sum; state, condition;... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | οὐσία | that which is one's own, one's substance,... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | εἰμί | To be, exist; live; To be; it is possible |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | ehmi | to be |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ésmi | first-person singular present indicative of... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁ēs- | to be |
Words derived from “interest”
- interest
- interesting
- disinterested
- uninteresting
- interestingly
- disinterestedness
- disinterest
- disinterestedly
- interestingness
- noninterest
- uninterest
- uninterestingly
- disinteresting
- uninterestingness
- reinterest
- noninteresting
- interestless
- self-interest
- interestable
- interest-free
- interestest
- interesteth
- carried interest