Etymograph

English

affect

Affect comes from Middle English affecten, from Latin affectō, frequentative of afficiō ‘to act upon, influence’, from ad- + faciō ‘to do’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-1‘to put, do’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-2reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyéti2reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjō2‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciō1as facere‘to do, make’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafficiō1‘to cause to experience; to treat’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffectō1‘to strive after, pursue’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500affecten1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1649affect1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English affect
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin facio
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1649, John Milton, London: […] Matthew Simmons: “men whom they thought best affected to religion and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁-Wiktionary, English affect‘to put, do’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-Wiktionary, Latin facioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyétiWiktionary, Latin facioreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjōWiktionary, Latin facio‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciōWiktionary, English affectas facere‘to do, make’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafficiōWiktionary, English affect‘to cause to experience; to treat’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffectōWiktionary, English affect‘to strive after, pursue’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500affectenWiktionary, English affect
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1649affectWiktionary, English affect. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1649, John Milton, London: […] Matthew Simmons: “men whom they thought best affected to religion and…”

Equivalent to af- + affectus

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd ‘near, at’

Proto-Italic *ad ‘toward, to, on, up to, for’

Latin ad ‘to, towards’

English af-

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *θakjō

imperfection, putrefaction, 66 more

through Proto-Italic *fakjō ‘to make’

factor, difficulty, interface, effectively, manufacture, faction, effectiveness, perfection, facet, ineffective, imperfect, defection, deface, defector, effector, confectionary, 68 more

through Latin faciō ‘to make, do’

face, fact, difficult, profit, feature, facility, perfect, faculty, sacrifice, efficient, effective, facial, deficit, effect, facilitate, affair, infection, feat, superficial, efficacy, facade, fetish, deficient, counterfeit, facsimile, defect, hacienda, maleficent, infect, beautify, parfait, facies, aficionado, efficacious, confit, difficile, beneficent, confection, refectory, 84 more

Another origin of affect

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyétireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjōreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjō‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciō‘to do, make’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafficiōas afficere, frequentative‘to act upon, influence’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffectāre‘to strive after, aim to do, pursue, imitate with dissimulation, feign’
  8. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400affecter‘strive after’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500affecten
  10. Englishtodayaffect

Another origin of affect

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyétireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjōreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjō‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciō‘to do, make’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafficiōas afficere‘to act upon, influence’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffectus‘a state of mind or body produced by some (external) influence, especially sympathy or love’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500affect
  9. Englishtodayaffect

Today it means

verb To influence or alter.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “affect”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin facio. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- / affect

Shirt and support for this word