English
science
Science comes from Old French science, from Latin scientia ‘knowledge’, from sciēns ‘knowing’, and ultimately from Latin sciō ‘to know’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsciōas scire, present participle stem‘to know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsciēns‘knowing’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEscientia‘knowledge’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400science‘knowledge’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a science’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsciōas scire, present participle stem‘to know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsciēns‘knowing’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEscientia‘knowledge’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400science‘knowledge’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a science’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto I: “For by his mightie Science he had seene /…”
Linked words
pairs
- science and nice both from Latin sciō ‘to know’
through Proto-Indo-European *skey- ‘to distinguish, dissect’
ship, equipment, shift, shed, skip, kyle, ski, shin, squire, sheath, skeet, skiff, chine, scuttle, skein, shud, scullery, prescient, 44 more
through Proto-Italic *skijō
through Latin sciō ‘to know’
Today it means
noun A particular discipline or branch of knowledge that is natural, measurable or consisting of systematic principles rather than intuition or technical skill.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin sciō / science