English
competition
Competition is borrowed from French compétition, from Late Latin competītiō, from Latin competō ‘to come together’, from con- + petō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetō‘to seek’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompetō‘to come together, meet’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcompetītiō
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcompétition
- Englishearliest quotation 1897competition
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpetō‘to seek’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompetō‘to come together, meet’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcompetītiō
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcompétition
- Englishearliest quotation 1897competition
Earliest quotation: 1897, Winston Churchill: “The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to…”
Equivalent to compete + -ition
Latin petō ‘to seek, strive for’
Latin competō ‘to coincide, be capable of’
Middle French competer
English compete
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱe ‘Deictic particle, here’
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’
among, gain, comply, hind, likeness, kata, limbed, 32 more
through Proto-Italic *kom ‘with, along, at’
cum, consideration, cue, 15 more
through Proto-Italic *kom- ‘together’
conference, consider, counter, consistent, concrete, con, commodity, compulsory, contra, concierge, condiment, connotation, condescend, 16 more
Today it means
noun The action of competing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin petō / competition