Etymology of the English word difficulty
the English word
difficultyderived from the Latin word
difficultas (difficulty; trouble; hardship)
derived from the Latin word
difficilis (difficult, troublesome; hard; obstinate, intractable; inflexible)
using the Latin prefix
dis-derived from the Latin word
facilis (easy, easy to do, without difficulty)
derived from the Latin word
facere (to make; act, take action, be active; compose, write; classify; do, make; create; make, build, construct; produce; produce by growth; bring forth)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*dhē-Date
The earliest known usage of difficulty in English dates from the 14th century.
Derivations in English
difficultUsage
Word found in Modern English
