English
action
Action comes from Middle English accioun, from Old French aucion, from Latin āctiō ‘act of doing’, from agō ‘to do’, ultimately from PIE *h₂eǵ-.
- 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, act’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctiō‘act of doing or making’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aucion‘action’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500accioun‘an action’
- Englishearliest quotation 1751action
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, act’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctiō‘act of doing or making’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aucion‘action’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500accioun‘an action’
- Englishearliest quotation 1751action
Earliest quotation: 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […]: “So saying he presented him with two actions of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
suggest, register, essay, gesture, digest, acre, agrarian, congestion, belligerent, progesterone, ingest, agitate, gestation, agger, samaj, axiomatic, gerund, gestion, 131 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, antagonist, axiom, antagonism, agonist, antagonize, stratagem, glucagon, agonize, 104 more
through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’
actively, radioactive, inactive, unambiguous, reagent, retroactive, hyperactivity, ambiguously, 81 more
through Latin agō ‘to act, to behave’
agency, agent, act, actual, agenda, activity, active, examine, actor, examination, ambiguous, squat, agile, ambiguity, agility, assay, activate, radium, cogent, agitation, reactionary, actuator, exigent, inexact, actuate, redact, actuation, 96 more
through Latin āctum
Today it means
noun The effort of performing or doing something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / action