English
act
Act comes from Middle English acte, from Old French acte, from Latin ācta ‘register of events’, plural of āctum ‘decree, law’, from agō ‘to do, to act’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to do, to act’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctum‘decree, law’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEācta‘register of events’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400acte
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acte‘an act’
- Englishearliest quotation 1651act
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to do, to act’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctum‘decree, law’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEācta‘register of events’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400acte
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acte‘an act’
- Englishearliest quotation 1651act
Earliest quotation: 1651, Jeremy Taylor, Signes of Purity of Intention: “that we act our temporal affairs with a deſire…”
The story
Partially displaced deed, from Old English dǣd (‘act, deed’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
suggest, register, essay, gesture, digest, congestion, acre, agrarian, belligerent, progesterone, gestation, ingestion, ingest, agitate, axiomatic, agger, samaj, gerund, gestion, 128 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, antagonist, axiom, antagonism, agonist, reactionary, antagonize, stratagem, glucagon, agonize, 102 more
through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’
reaction, transaction, actively, radioactive, inactive, unambiguous, reagent, retroactive, hyperactivity, ambiguously, 80 more
through Latin agō ‘to act, to behave’
agency, agent, action, activity, agenda, examination, active, examine, actual, actor, ambiguous, squat, agile, ambiguity, agility, assay, activate, agitation, radium, cogent, enact, actuator, exigent, actuation, inexact, actuate, redact, 97 more
Today it means
noun Something done, a deed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / act