Etymograph

English

equal

Equal comes from Middle English equal ‘identical in amount, extent, or portion’, from Latin aequālis ‘equal, like’, and ultimately from Old Latin aiquos.

  1. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEaiquos
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequus
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequālis‘equal’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500equal‘identical in amount’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1596equal

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEaiquos
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequus
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequālis‘equal’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500equal‘identical in amount’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1596equal

Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto VI: “Thee, O Jove, no equall judge I deem.”

Linked words

through Old Latin aiquos

inequitable, 13 more

through Latin aequus

equity, equation, equitable, equate, 14 more

through Latin aequālis ‘equal, like’

inequality, egalitarian, 5 more

Today it means

adj The same in one or more respects.

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

Etymograph / Old Latin aiquos / equal

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