English
exist
Exist comes from French exister, from Latin exsistō ‘to arise, exist’, from ex- ‘out’ + sistō ‘to set’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-‘to stand’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stísteh₂tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sistōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsistō‘to cause to stand; to set’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsistō‘to arise, emerge; to exist’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentexister
- Englishearliest quotation 1977exist
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-‘to stand’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*stísteh₂tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sistōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsistō‘to cause to stand; to set’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsistō‘to arise, emerge; to exist’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentexister
- Englishearliest quotation 1977exist
Earliest quotation: 1977, Lawrence S. Wrightsman with Kay Deaux, Social Psychology: “Cognitive dissonance exists when a person possesses two cognitions,…”
A compound of ex ‘out’ + sistere ‘to set, place’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs ‘out’
Proto-Italic *eks
Latin ex ‘out’
Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘stand’
Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti ‘to be standing up, to be getting up’
Proto-Italic *sistō ‘to stand’
Latin sistō ‘to set, place’
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-
Today it means
verb to be; have existence; have being or reality
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- / exist