English
actual
Actual comes from Late Latin actuālis ‘active, practical’, from actus ‘act, action’, 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
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to do, act; to drive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEactus‘act, action’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEactuālis‘active, practical’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400actuel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500actual
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606actual
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-‘to drive’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘to do, act; to drive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEactus‘act, action’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEactuālis‘active, practical’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400actuel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500actual
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606actual
Earliest quotation: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “In this slumbry agitation, besides her walking, and other…”
Equivalent to act + -u- + -al
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
…
Latin āctum ‘decree, law’
Latin ācta ‘register of events’
Old French acte
Middle English acte ‘an act’
English act
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’
suggest, register, essay, digest, gesture, congestion, acre, agrarian, belligerent, progesterone, gestation, ingestion, ingest, agitate, axiomatic, agger, samaj, gerund, gestion, 131 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, antagonist, axiom, reactionary, antagonism, agonist, antagonize, stratagem, glucagon, agonize, 105 more
through Proto-Italic *agō
reaction, transaction, actively, radioactive, inactive, unambiguous, reagent, retroactive, hyperactivity, ambiguously, 83 more
through Latin agō ‘to do, make, drive’
agency, agent, action, act, activity, active, agenda, examination, examine, ambiguous, agile, ambiguity, activate, agility, assay, squat, agitation, enact, radium, cogent, exigent, inexact, redact, 100 more
through Latin actus ‘act, action, performance’
Today it means
adj relating to a person's acts or deeds; active, practical
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / actual