English
actively
Actively comes from Middle English actyvely ‘in an active way’, from Latin ago ‘to act’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-‘to drive’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 CEago‘to act’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctīvus‘active’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400actif‘active’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500actyf‘active, reactive’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500actyvely‘in an active way’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020actively
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-‘to drive’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 CEago‘to act’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEāctīvus‘active’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400actif‘active’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500actyf‘active, reactive’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500actyvely‘in an active way’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020actively
Earliest quotation: 2020, Alex Stitt, ACT for Gender Identity: The Comprehensive Guide: “Defying this, Western queer culture actively defuses from cisnormative…”
Formed from active + -ly
Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
Latin agō ‘to do, to act’
Latin āctīvus
Old French actif
Middle English actyf ‘active’
English active
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’
suggest, register, essay, gesture, digest, acre, congestion, agrarian, progesterone, belligerent, gestation, ingest, agitate, axiomatic, agger, samaj, gerund, gestion, 132 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, antagonist, axiom, antagonism, agonist, reactionary, antagonize, stratagem, glucagon, agonize, 105 more
through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’
reaction, transaction, unambiguous, reagent, ambiguously, 83 more
through Latin ago ‘to act’
agency, agent, act, action, actual, agenda, actor, examine, examination, ambiguous, squat, agile, ambiguity, agility, assay, agitation, enact, cogent, actuator, exigent, actuation, inexact, actuate, redact, 95 more
through Latin āctīvus ‘active’
inactive, hyperactivity, 26 more
through Old French actif ‘active’
Today it means
adv In an active manner.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / actively