Etymograph

English

cooperation

Cooperation comes from Latin operātiō ‘operation’, from operor ‘to work, labor’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃épos‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opos‘work’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopus‘work, labor, accomplishment’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEopera
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperātus‘having worked, laboured, toiled’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperor‘to work, labor’
  8. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperātiō‘operation’
  9. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcooperātiō
  10. Frenchc. 1600–presentcooperation
  11. Englishearliest quotation 2019cooperation

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃épos‘work’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opos‘work’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopus‘work, labor, accomplishment’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEopera
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperātus‘having worked, laboured, toiled’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperor‘to work, labor’
  8. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperātiō‘operation’
  9. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcooperātiō
  10. Frenchc. 1600–presentcooperation
  11. Englishearliest quotation 2019cooperation

Earliest quotation: 2019, VOA Learning English: “South Korea is seeking cooperation from China to produce…”.

Equivalent to co- + operation

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’

Proto-Italic *kom ‘with, along, at’

Proto-Italic *kom- ‘together’

English co-

Latin opus ‘work’

Latin operor ‘to work’

Latin operātiō

Old French operacion ‘action’

Middle English operacioun

English operation

first attested First attested in 1620–1630 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First attested in 1620–1630.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’

office, official, bus, copy, omnibus, copious, opulence, officiate, omnivore, officiant, officious, 22 more

through Latin opus ‘work, labor, accomplishment’

opus, 10 more

through Latin opera

opera, ure, oeuvre, operetta, 9 more

through Latin operātus ‘having worked, laboured, toiled’

operate, 5 more

through Latin operor ‘to work, labor’

operator, operative, 4 more

Today it means

noun The act of cooperating.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- / cooperation

Shirt and support for this word