English
uniformity
Uniformity comes from Middle English uniformite.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500uniformite
- Englishearliest quotation 1611uniformity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500uniformite
- Englishearliest quotation 1611uniformity
Earliest quotation: 1611, Thomas Coryate [i.e., My Obseruations of Gorcom: “The buildings are all of brick, of a goodly…”
Equivalent to uniform + -ity
Latin fōrma
Latin uniformis ‘having only one shape or form, uniform’
Middle French uniforme
English uniform
The story
From Late Middle English uniformite, uniformitie (‘conformity or equality among several parts; similar degree’), borrowed from Old French uniformité (‘uniformity’) (modern French uniformité), or from its etymon Late Latin ūniformitās, from Latin ūnifōrmis (‘having only one form or shape, uniform’) + -itās (a variant of -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being)). Ūnifōrmis is derived from ūni- (prefix meaning ‘one’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos (‘one’)) + -fōrmis (suffix meaning having the form of) (from fōrma (‘appearance, form, shape’); further etymology unknown).uncertain The source flags this step as uncertain.
Linked words
through Ancient Greek μορφή ‘shape, form’
transformation, morphology, morph, informatics, deformable, 28 more
through Etruscan *morma
formation, reform, formula, format, formal, inform, forma, deform, 20 more
through Latin fōrma
Today it means
noun The quality or state of having the same characteristics or form as other things, and lacking variety; (countable) an instance of this.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English uniformite / uniformity