English
detachment
Detachment comes from French détacher ‘to detach’, from attacher ‘to attach’, and ultimately from Medieval Latin staca ‘a stake’.
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500staca‘a stake’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400estache‘stick’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400estachier‘bind’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400atachier‘to attach’variant of estachier
- Frenchc. 1600–presentattacher‘to attach’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdétacher‘to detach’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdétachement
- Englishearliest quotation 1944detachment
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500staca‘a stake’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400estache‘stick’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400estachier‘bind’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400atachier‘to attach’variant of estachier
- Frenchc. 1600–presentattacher‘to attach’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdétacher‘to detach’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdétachement
- Englishearliest quotation 1944detachment
Earliest quotation: 1944, and December, Motor and Cartage Working: “But the horse has left his mark, for his…”
Equivalent to detach + -ment
Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- ‘to be sharp, to stab, to goad, to puncture’
Proto-Germanic *stikaną ‘to stab’
Frankish *stekan
Old French atachier ‘to attach’
Old French destachier ‘to detach’
English detach
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *stakô ‘a stake’
through Old French atachier ‘to attach’
attack, etiquette, attach, staccato, 2 more
through French attacher ‘to attach’
through French détacher ‘to detach’
Today it means
noun The action of detaching; separation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Medieval Latin staca / detachment