Etymograph

English

affective

Affective comes from Latin affectus, from afficiō ‘to affect’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjō1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjō1‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciō1‘to do, make’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafficiō2as afficere, past participle‘to affect’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffectus2
  8. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500affectivus2
  9. Englishtodayaffective2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin afficio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English affective

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-Wiktionary, Latin afficioreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyétiWiktionary, Latin afficioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjōWiktionary, Latin afficioreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjōWiktionary, Latin afficio‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciōWiktionary, Latin afficio‘to do, make’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEafficiōWiktionary, English affectiveas afficere, past participle‘to affect’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffectusWiktionary, English affective
  8. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500affectivusWiktionary, English affective
  9. EnglishtodayaffectiveWiktionary, English affective

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *θakjō

effectively, effectiveness, ineffective, imperfection, putrefaction, 66 more

through Proto-Italic *fakjō ‘to make’

factor, difficulty, interface, manufacture, effective, faction, perfection, facet, imperfect, deface, defection, defector, effector, confectionary, 71 more

through Latin faciō ‘to do, make’

face, fact, difficult, profit, perfect, feature, facility, faculty, sacrifice, effect, efficient, facial, deficit, facilitate, affair, feat, infection, superficial, efficacy, facade, deficient, counterfeit, fetish, defect, facsimile, infect, hacienda, maleficent, parfait, facies, efficacious, beautify, confit, difficile, beneficent, confection, refectory, 85 more

through Latin afficiō ‘to affect’

aficionado, 5 more

Today it means

adj Relating to, resulting from, or influenced by the emotions.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “affective”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin afficio. 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 *dʰeh₁k- / affective

Shirt and support for this word