English

active material

From active + material.

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’

Latin agō ‘to do, to act’

Latin āctīvus

Old French actif

Middle English actyf ‘active’

Latin māter ‘mother’

Latin māteria ‘wood, material, substance’

Late Latin māteriālis

Middle English material ‘made of matter’

Today it means

noun Essential components of a device, reaction, etc.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / active material