English
application
Application comes from late Middle English applicacioun, from Old French aplicacion, from Latin applicātiō, from applicō ‘to attach, apply’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapplicō1‘to join to, attach; apply’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapplicātiō1‘attachment; application’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aplicacion1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500applicacioun1
- Englishearliest quotation 1693application1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English application
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1693, John Locke, §43: “All that I have hitherto contended for, is, that…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapplicōWiktionary, English application‘to join to, attach; apply’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEapplicātiōWiktionary, English application‘attachment; application’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400aplicacionWiktionary, English application
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500applicaciounWiktionary, English application
- Englishearliest quotation 1693applicationWiktionary, English application. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1693, John Locke, §43: “All that I have hitherto contended for, is, that…”
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
Today it means
noun The act of physically applying or laying on.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “application”. 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 applicō / application