English
nonfiction
Nonfiction comes from Middle English ficcioun ‘an invention or fabrication’, from Latin fictiō ‘fashioning, forming, formation’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to form, to shape’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to form, to shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰinéǵʰti‘to form, shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θingōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fingō‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfingō‘to shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfictiō‘fashioning, forming, formation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ficcion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ficcioun‘an invention or fabrication’
- English1500–presentfiction
- Englishearliest quotation 2005nonfiction
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeyǵʰ-‘to form, to shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰinéǵʰti‘to form, shape’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θingōreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fingō‘to knead, form’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfingō‘to shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfictiō‘fashioning, forming, formation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400ficcion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ficcioun‘an invention or fabrication’
- English1500–presentfiction
- Englishearliest quotation 2005nonfiction
Earliest quotation: 2005, Eric Pfanner, Puzzling phenomenon sweeps British papers: “A sudoku book sits atop the Nielsen BookScan nonfiction…”
Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’
…
Proto-Germanic *nainaz ‘none, nought, zero’
Proto-West Germanic *nain
Old English nān ‘no, not any’
Middle English non ‘no, not any’
English non-
Latin fingō ‘to form, devise, feign’
Latin fictiō ‘a making; a feigning’
Old French ficcion ‘dissimulation, invention’
Middle English ficcioun ‘invention, fabrication’
English fiction
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ‘to form, to shape’
lady, figure, paradise, dairy, dough, faint, dey, 26 more
through Latin fingō ‘to shape, fashion, form, knead (dough)’
Today it means
noun Written works intended to give facts, or true accounts of real things and events. Often used attributively.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- / nonfiction