Etymology of the English word define
the English word
definederived from the Old French word
definerderived from the Old French word
definirderived from the Latin word
definire (define, bound, fix; finish off, put an end, end the life)
using the Late Latin prefix
de-derived from the Latin word
de (away; down)
derived from the Latin word
finire (limit, end; finish)
derived from the Latin word
finis (boundary, end, limit)
derived from the French word
definederived from the Latin word
definire (define, bound, fix; finish off, put an end, end the life)
using the Late Latin prefix
de-derived from the Latin word
de (away; down)
derived from the Latin word
finire (limit, end; finish)
derived from the Latin word
finis (boundary, end, limit)
Date
The earliest known usage of define in English dates from the 14th century.
Derivations in English
defined,
definingCognates
Dutch
definieren, French
définir, German
definieren, Italian
definire, Norwegian
definere, Provençal
definir, Spanish
definir, Swedish
defieneraUsage
Word found in Modern English
