English
summa
Summa comes from Latin summa ‘top, summit, highest point or place’, from Proto-Italic *superos ‘upper’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *úp.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*úpreconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*upér‘above’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*super‘above’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*superos‘upper’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuperus‘upper, higher’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsumma‘top, summit, highest point or place’superlative of superus
- Englishearliest quotation 1987same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*úpreconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*upér‘above’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*super‘above’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*superos‘upper’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuperus‘upper, higher’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsumma‘top, summit, highest point or place’superlative of superus
- Englishearliest quotation 1987same form
Earliest quotation: 1987, Svetlana Alpers, The Mapping Impulse in Dutch Art: “In size, scope, and graphic ambition [the map] is…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *upér ‘above’
over, superior, uber, supervise, 19 more
through Proto-Italic *super ‘above’
super, sovereign, soprano, 17 more
through Proto-Italic *superos ‘upper’
through Latin superus ‘upper, higher’
through Latin summa ‘top, summit, highest point or place’
Today it means
noun A comprehensive summary of, or treatise on a subject, especially theology or philosophy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *úp / summa