English
fix
Fix comes from Middle English fixen, from Old French *fixer, from fix ‘fastened’, from Latin fīxus, from fīgō ‘to drive in’, ultimately from PIE *dʰeygʷ- ‘to jab’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-‘to jab’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīgō‘to drive in’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīxus‘immovable’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fix‘fastened’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400*fixerreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fixen
- Englishearliest quotation 1627fix
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeygʷ-‘to jab’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīgō‘to drive in’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfīxus‘immovable’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fix‘fastened’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400*fixerreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fixen
- Englishearliest quotation 1627fix
Earliest quotation: 1627, (please specify the page, or |century=I to X): “quicksilver will fix, so asto endure the hammer”.
The story
From Middle English fixen, borrowed from Old French *fixer (attested only as ficher, fichier; > English fitch), from fix (‘fastened; fixed’), from Latin fīxus (‘immovable; steady; stable; fixed’), from fīgō (‘to drive in; stick; fasten’), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (‘to jab; stick; set’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- ‘to jab’
final, fine, finish, definition, dig, ditch, infinite, infinity, finite, dyke, fin, dike, financier, infinitive, finis, fino, finial, 23 more
through Latin fīgō ‘to drive in’
through Latin fīxus ‘immovable’
through Middle English fixen
Today it means
verb To pierce; now generally replaced by transfix.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.