English
adapt
Adapt comes from Latin adaptō ‘to fit, adjust, modify’, and goes back to apiō ‘to bind, fasten, join’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapiō1‘to bind, fasten, join’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaptō1‘to fasten, fit, apply, adjust’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadaptō1‘to fit, adjust, modify’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*adapten1reconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1709adapt1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English adapt
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1709, Merlin's Prophecy: “This prediction, though somewhat obscure, is wonderfully adapt.”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapiōWiktionary, English adapt‘to bind, fasten, join’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaptōWiktionary, English adapt‘to fasten, fit, apply, adjust’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadaptōWiktionary, English adapt‘to fit, adjust, modify’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*adaptenWiktionary, English adaptreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1709adaptWiktionary, English adapt. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1709, Merlin's Prophecy: “This prediction, though somewhat obscure, is wonderfully adapt.”
The story
From Middle English *adapten (attested in Middle English adapted (past participle)), from Latin adaptāre (‘to fit to’), from ad- (‘to’) + aptāre (‘to make fit’), from aptus (‘fit’); see apt.
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *apjō
through Latin apiō ‘to bind, fasten, join’
couple, coupling, adept, copulation, copulate, 16 more
through Latin aptō ‘to fasten, fit, apply, adjust’
Today it means
verb To make suitable; to make to correspond; to fit or suit.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “adapt”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin apiō / adapt