Etymograph

English

asset

Asset comes from Old French asez ‘enough’, and goes back to Early Medieval Latin ad satis.

  1. Early Medieval Latinmodernad satis1
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400asez2‘enough’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400asetz2
  4. English1500–presentassets2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2009asset2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old French asez
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English asset
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Kaitlynn Maguire, Margaret Tingley: “Perhaps it is simply common for wives to want…”.

Lineage

  1. Early Medieval Latinmodernad satisWiktionary, Old French asez
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400asezWiktionary, English asset‘enough’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400asetzWiktionary, English asset
  4. English1500–presentassetsWiktionary, English asset
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2009assetWiktionary, English asset. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Kaitlynn Maguire, Margaret Tingley: “Perhaps it is simply common for wives to want…”

Every English word from Early Medieval Latin ad satis

Today it means

noun A thing or quality that has value, especially one that generates cash flows.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “asset”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old French asez. 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 / Early Medieval Latin ad satis / asset

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