English
apt
Apt comes from Old French apte, from Latin aptus ‘suitable, fitting’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- ‘to join, fit (in)’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ep-‘to join, fit (in)’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ptósreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aptosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaptus‘suitable, fitting’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400apte
- Englishearliest quotation 1599apt
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ep-‘to join, fit (in)’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ptósreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*aptosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaptus‘suitable, fitting’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400apte
- Englishearliest quotation 1599apt
Earliest quotation: 1599, The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar: “Fulfill your pleasure. Live a thousand years, / I…”.
The story
Either from obsolete apere (‘to fasten, to join, to fit’), akin to apisci (‘to reach, attain’) (compare with Greek ἅπτειν (áptein, “to fasten”) and Sanskrit आप्त (āpta, “fit”), from आप् (āp, “to reach, attain”)) or from *h₂ep- (‘to join, fit (in)’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- ‘to join, fit (in)’
through Latin aptus ‘suitable, fitting’
Today it means
adj Suitable; appropriate; fit or fitted; suited.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- / apt