English
relative
Relative comes from Old French relatif, from Late Latin relātīvus, from relātus ‘carried back’, from the stem of lātus, of uncertain origin.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElātus‘borne, carried’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErelātus‘carried back; related’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CErelātīvus‘relative’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600relatif‘relative’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602relative
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElātus‘borne, carried’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErelātus‘carried back; related’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CErelātīvus‘relative’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600relatif‘relative’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602relative
Earliest quotation: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “The Spirit that I haue ſeene May be the…”
Equivalent to relate + -ive
Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
…
Proto-Italic *ferō ‘to carry, bear’
Latin ferō ‘bear, carry’
Latin referō ‘carry back’
Latin relātus
English relate
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
bar, birth, broad, prefer, fortune, bread, burden, bearing, barn, fury, baron, bark, barrel, bore, breeze, berth, broom, barrow, embargo, fret, ferret, insufferable, bier, bahar, proffer, birr, bairn, burnish, furtive, barrette, 115 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to bear, carry’
bear, borne, phosphorus, phosphate, euphoria, dysphoria, semaphore, indifferently, phosphine, 93 more
through Proto-Italic *ferō ‘to carry, bear’
suffering, differently, indifferent, differentiation, infertility, deference, infertile, differentially, differentiable, deferential, differentiator, 70 more
through Latin ferō ‘to bear or carry’
different, offer, difference, transfer, suffer, extraordinary, differ, translation, frustration, fertility, translate, strangely, fertile, extravagant, defer, confer, infer, infra, frustrate, extraneous, fertilization, strangeness, fertilize, elated, ablation, estrange, collation, collate, dilate, efferent, elation, oblate, ablative, 81 more
through Latin referō ‘to carry back, to ascribe’
Today it means
adj Connected to or depending on something else; comparative.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin lātus / relative