English
coherence
Coherence comes from Middle French coherence, from Latin cohaerēns ‘uniting, cohering, adhering’, and ultimately from haereō ‘to stick, stick fast’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhaereō‘to stick, stick fast’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcohaereō‘to cling, cleave or stick (closely) together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcohaerēns‘uniting, cohering, adhering’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcohaerentia
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600coherence
- Englishearliest quotation 1898same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhaereō‘to stick, stick fast’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcohaereō‘to cling, cleave or stick (closely) together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcohaerēns‘uniting, cohering, adhering’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcohaerentia
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600coherence
- Englishearliest quotation 1898same form
Earliest quotation: 1898, Henry James: “Mrs. Grose listened with dumb emotion; she forbore to…”
Equivalent to cohere + -ence
Latin haereō ‘to stick, stick fast’
Latin cohaereō ‘cohere, cling (closely) together, harmonise,…’
English cohere
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰays- ‘to adhere, to stick, to be fixed’
adherence, hesitantly, adherent, 21 more
through Latin haereō ‘to stick, stick fast’
hesitate, hesitation, hesitant, adhesive, adhere, adhesion, hesitancy, 25 more
through Latin cohaereō ‘to cling, cleave or stick (closely) together’
Today it means
noun The quality of cohering, or being coherent; internal consistency.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin haereō / coherence