English
construction
Construction comes from Old French construction, from Latin cōnstructiō, from cōnstruō ‘to heap up, build’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strew-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to strew’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréwetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strowō‘to pile up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstruō‘pile up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstruōas cōnstruere‘to heap’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstructiō‘the act of putting’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400construction
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500construccioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1913construction
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-‘to strew’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stréwetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*strowō‘to pile up’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstruō‘pile up’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstruōas cōnstruere‘to heap’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstructiō‘the act of putting’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400construction
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500construccioun
- Englishearliest quotation 1913construction
Earliest quotation: 1913, Robert Barr: “Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of…”
Formed from construct + -ion
Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to strew, to spread out’
…
Proto-Italic *strowō ‘to pile up’
Latin struō ‘to heap up, pile’
Latin cōnstruō ‘to heap together’
Latin cōnstrūctus ‘collected together’
English construct
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to strew, to spread out’
strain, straw, stray, obstruction, obstruct, perestroika, stripling, misconstrue, 12 more
through Proto-Italic *strowō ‘to pile up’
through Latin struō ‘pile up, arrange’
destroy, structure, instrument, destruction, instructor, destructive, instruct, 6 more
Today it means
noun The process of constructing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *strew- / construction