English
informatics
Informatics comes from Middle English enformacioun ‘Informing’, from Latin īnfōrmō ‘to form, mould, fashion, give shape to’, and ultimately from fōrma.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrma
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmō‘to shape, form, fashion, format’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfōrmō‘to form, mould, fashion, give shape to’
- Late Latinmodernīnfōrmātiō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enformacioun‘Informing’
- English1500–presentinformation
- Englishtodayinformatics
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrma
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmō‘to shape, form, fashion, format’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīnfōrmō‘to form, mould, fashion, give shape to’
- Late Latinmodernīnfōrmātiō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500enformacioun‘Informing’
- English1500–presentinformation
- Englishtodayinformatics
Formed from information + -ics
Latin fōrma
…
Latin īnfōrmō ‘to form, give shape to’
Latin īnfōrmātiō ‘formation, conception; education’
Anglo-Norman informacioun
Middle English enformacioun
English information
The story
Coined 1967 from information + -ics; possibly influenced by automation and automatic. German Informatik dates from 1957, French informatique from 1962.
Linked words
through Ancient Greek μορφή ‘shape, form’
morphology, morph, uniformity, deformable, 29 more
through Etruscan *morma
formula, uniform, formal, transformation, forma, 20 more
through Latin fōrma
through Latin fōrmō ‘to shape, form, fashion, format’
Today it means
noun Synonym of computer science.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fōrma / informatics