Etymograph

English

reason

Reason comes from Latin ratiō ‘reason, reasoning, explanation, ground,…’, from ratus ‘considered, having considered’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to put together’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to put together’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂reh₁-‘to think’reconstructedreanalysed root of *h₂er-
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreor‘reckon’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEratus‘considered’past participle of reor
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEratiō‘reason’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400raisun
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500resoun
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1734reason

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to put together’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂reh₁-‘to think’reconstructedreanalysed root of *h₂er-
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreor‘reckon’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEratus‘considered’past participle of reor
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEratiō‘reason’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400raisun
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500resoun
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1734reason

Earliest quotation: 1734, Isaac Barrow, London: […] Stephen Austen: “[I]f two Quantities repreſented by the Numbers 20 and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to put together’

order, art, article, army, artist, ready, arm, ordinary, alarm, armor, harmony, coordinate, coordination, arthritis, articulate, anarchy, subordinate, arithmetic, ornament, artisan, ordination, aristocratic, ornate, inertia, harmonic, inert, armament, adorn, harmonious, articulation, ordinate, ordinator, armadillo, ordinal, rta, artifice, rime, harmonize, ordain, ordo, 76 more

through Latin reor ‘reckon’

rational, ration, 13 more

through Latin ratus ‘considered, having considered’

rate, irritate, ratify, 1 more

through Latin ratiō ‘reason, reasoning, explanation, ground,…’

ratio, 17 more

through Middle English resoun

resound

Another origin of reason

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁erh₁-‘to rest’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*razną‘house, dwelling’uncertain
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*raʀn‘house’uncertain
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150ræsn‘beam, rafter, ceiling, wall panel’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reason
  6. Englishtodayreason

Today it means

noun A cause: That which causes something: an efficient cause, a proximate cause.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / reason

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