English
frequentative
Frequentative comes from Latin frequentāre ‘to do or use often’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *frekʷents.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frekʷentsreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrequēns‘often, regular, constant, repeated, assiduous’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrequentāre‘to do or use often’
- Late Latinmodernfrequentātīvus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500frequentatyf
- Englishtodayfrequentative
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frekʷentsreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrequēns‘often, regular, constant, repeated, assiduous’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrequentāre‘to do or use often’
- Late Latinmodernfrequentātīvus
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500frequentatyf
- Englishtodayfrequentative
Equivalent to frequent + -ative
Proto-Italic *frekʷents
Latin frequens ‘crowded, crammed, frequent, repeated, etc’
Old French frequent
English frequent
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰrekʷ- ‘to condense’
Today it means
adj Serving to express repetition of an action.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *frekʷents / frequentative