Etymograph

English

item

Item comes from Middle English item, from Latin item ‘also’, which introduced each entry in a list.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEitem‘also’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘also’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1655same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEitem‘also’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘also’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1655same form

Earliest quotation: 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […]: “A secret item was given to some of the…”

The story

The present English meaning derives from a usage in lists, where the first entry would begin in primis (‘firstly’) or imprimis, and the other entries with item (‘also, moreover’). Later, the members of lists were referred to as "items".

Every English word from Latin item

Today it means

noun A distinct physical object.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin item / item

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