Etymograph

English

attitude

Attitude comes from French attitude, from Italian attitudine ‘aptitude, aptness’, from Late Latin aptitūdō conflated with actitūdō ‘posture’.

  1. Italianc. 1300–presentattitudine1‘aptitude, flair’
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentattitude1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1823attitude1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English attitude
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1823, Felix M'Donogh, The Hermit Abroad: “[…] nymphs of quality, formed for the offices of…”.

Lineage

  1. Italianc. 1300–presentattitudineWiktionary, English attitude‘aptitude, flair’
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentattitudeWiktionary, English attitude
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1823attitudeWiktionary, English attitude. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1823, Felix M'Donogh, The Hermit Abroad: “[…] nymphs of quality, formed for the offices of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- ‘to join, fit (in)’

apex, ape, aven, 23 more

through Latin aptus ‘suitable, fitting’

apt, 12 more

through Latin aptō ‘to fasten, fit, apply, adjust’

adapt, 6 more

through Medieval Latin aptitūdō ‘aptitude’

aptitude, 7 more

Today it means

noun The position of the body or way of carrying oneself.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “attitude”. 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 / Italian attitudine / attitude

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