English
experiment
Experiment comes from Middle English experiment, from Old French esperiment, from Latin experimentum, from experior ‘to try’, ultimately PIE *per-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-‘to go through’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*periorreconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexperior‘to try, experience’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexperimentum‘experience, test’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400esperiment‘experience’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500experiment
- Englishearliest quotation 1481same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-‘to go through’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*periorreconstructed
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexperior‘to try, experience’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexperimentum‘experience, test’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400esperiment‘experience’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500experiment
- Englishearliest quotation 1481same form
Earliest quotation: 1481, The Mirrour of the World, William Caxton: “Til they had experimented whiche was trewe, and who…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to provide, produce, beget’
part, empire, repair, preparation, para, parcel, imperial, parental, pare, imperious, imperium, 46 more
through Latin pariō ‘to bear, to give birth to’
through Latin experior ‘to attempt, to try’
Today it means
noun A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *per- / experiment