Etymograph

English

app

App comes from Old French aplicacion ‘application’, and goes back to Latin applicātiō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapplicātiō1‘application’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aplicacion1‘application’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500applicacioun1
  4. English1500–presentapplication1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1995app1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English app
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, The X-Files: “SCULLY: What are these chips used for? PENDRELL: Video…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapplicātiōWiktionary, English app‘application’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aplicacionWiktionary, English app‘application’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500applicaciounWiktionary, English app
  4. English1500–presentapplicationWiktionary, English app
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1995appWiktionary, English app. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, The X-Files: “SCULLY: What are these chips used for? PENDRELL: Video…”

A compound of plicō ‘to fold, bend or flex’ + applicō ‘to apply’

Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’

Latin plicō ‘to fold, bend or flex’

Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’

Latin plicō ‘to fold, bend or flex’

Latin applicō ‘to apply’

Linked words

through Middle English applicacioun

application

Today it means

noun An application (program), especially a small one designed for a mobile device.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “app”. 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 applicātiō / app

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