English
fictionary
Fictionary comes from Middle English ficcioun ‘an invention or fabrication’, from Latin fictiō ‘fashioning, forming, formation’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to form, to shape’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to form, to shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰinéǵʰti‘to form, shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θingōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fingō‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfingō‘to shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfictiō‘fashioning, forming, formation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ficcion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ficcioun‘an invention or fabrication’
- English1500–presentfiction
- Englishearliest quotation 1853fictionary
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to form, to shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰinéǵʰti‘to form, shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θingōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fingō‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfingō‘to shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfictiō‘fashioning, forming, formation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ficcion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ficcioun‘an invention or fabrication’
- English1500–presentfiction
- Englishearliest quotation 1853fictionary
Earliest quotation: 1853, Mary Anna Needell, Ada Gresham: “I used to spend my mornings in the large,…”
A compound of fiction + -ary
Latin fingō ‘to form, devise, feign’
Latin fictiō ‘a making; a feigning’
Old French ficcion ‘dissimulation, invention’
Middle English ficcioun ‘invention, fabrication’
English fiction
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to form, to shape’
lady, figure, paradise, dairy, dough, faint, dey, 25 more
through Latin fingō ‘to shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)’
effigy, feign, fictitious, feint, figment, 17 more
through English fiction
Today it means
adj Fictional.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- / fictionary