English
partition
Partition comes from Latin partitio ‘division, portion’, from partitus ‘shared, parted, distributed, divided, having…’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *partis ‘part’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partis‘part’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpars‘part, piece’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartiō‘share, part’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartioras partire, past participle‘to split (up), part(ition)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartitus‘shared, parted, distributed, divided, having been shared’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartitio‘division, portion’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400particion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500particioun
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599partition
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*partis‘part’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpars‘part, piece’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartiō‘share, part’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartioras partire, past participle‘to split (up), part(ition)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartitus‘shared, parted, distributed, divided, having been shared’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpartitio‘division, portion’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400particion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500particioun
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599partition
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “And good from bad find no partition.”
The story
Recorded c.1430, "division into shares, distinction," from Middle English particioun, from Old French particion (modern partition), from Latin partitio, partitionem (‘division, portion’), from partitus, the past participle of partire (‘to split (up), part(ition)’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to grant’
empire, experiment, expert, imperial, repair, preparation, parental, para, parity, imperium, imperious, pare, rampart, 35 more
through Proto-Italic *partis ‘part’
through Latin pars ‘part, piece’
particular, participate, participation, parcel, parse, particulate, 17 more
through Latin partiō ‘share, part’
depart, impart, bipartite, 8 more
through Latin partior ‘to split (up), part(ition)’
through Latin partitus ‘shared, parted, distributed, divided, having…’
Today it means
noun An action which divides a thing into parts, or separates one thing from another.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *partis / partition