English
committee
Committee is commit + -ee, or perhaps a revival of Anglo-Norman commite, participle of Old French commettre, from Latin committō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō‘to send’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommittōas committere‘to join together, commit’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400commettre‘to commit’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400commiteuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1643committee
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō‘to send’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommittōas committere‘to join together, commit’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400commettre‘to commit’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400commiteuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1643committee
Earliest quotation: 1643, Parliament of England, Ordinance: “And it is further ordained, that the Members of…”
Formed from commit + -ee
Latin mittō ‘to send’
Latin committō ‘to bring together, join, compare, commit (a…’
Middle English committen ‘to commit, dedicate something to’
English commit
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *meitō ‘to put forth, put out’
remission, unremitting, 19 more
through Old Latin mītō
permission, transmission, admission, submission, emission, omission, remit, 21 more
through Latin mittō ‘to send’
mission, mess, admit, missile, dismiss, premise, transmit, intermittent, emit, permissive, amit, remiss, omit, missive, commissariat, 33 more
through Latin committō ‘to practise or perpetrate wrong, do injustice’
Today it means
noun A body of one or more persons convened for the accomplishment of some specific purpose, typically with formal protocols.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin mittō / committee