English
fragility
Fragility comes from Latin fragilitās ‘brittleness, fragility’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *fragelis.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fragelisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfragilis‘fragile, brittle, easily broken, breakable’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfragilitās‘brittleness, fragility’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fragilité
- Englishearliest quotation 2013fragility
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fragelisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfragilis‘fragile, brittle, easily broken, breakable’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfragilitās‘brittleness, fragility’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fragilité
- Englishearliest quotation 2013fragility
Earliest quotation: 2013, David Simpson, Fantasy of navigation: “It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or…”
Formed from fragile + -ity
Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’
Latin frangō ‘to break’
Latin fragilis ‘fragile, brittle, easily broken, breakable’
Middle French fragile
English fragile
Linked words
through Latin fragilis ‘fragile, brittle, easily broken, breakable’
through Latin fragilitās ‘brittleness, fragility’
Today it means
noun The condition or quality of being fragile; brittleness; frangibility.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *fragelis / fragility