Etymograph

English

coequal

Coequal comes from Latin coaequālis, from aequālis ‘equal, like’, and ultimately from Old Latin aiquos.

  1. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEaiquos1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequus1‘equal, even’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequālis2‘equal, like’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoaequālis3
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coequalle3
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588coequal3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin aequalis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin coaequalis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English coequal
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “ſince they meaſure our deſerts so meane, That in…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEaiquosWiktionary, Latin aequalis
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequusWiktionary, Latin aequalis‘equal, even’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequālisWiktionary, Latin coaequalis‘equal, like’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoaequālisWiktionary, English coequal
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coequalleWiktionary, English coequal
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588coequalWiktionary, English coequal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “ſince they meaſure our deſerts so meane, That in…”

Formed from co- + equal

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’

Proto-Italic *kom ‘with, along, at’

Proto-Italic *kom- ‘together’

English co-

Old Latin aiquos

Latin aequus

Latin aequālis ‘equal’

Middle English equal ‘identical in amount’

English equal

Linked words

through Old Latin aiquos

inequitable, 11 more

through Latin aequus ‘equal, even’

equity, equation, inequality, equitable, equate, 12 more

through Latin aequālis ‘equal, like’

equality, egalitarian, 5 more

Today it means

adj Equal to each other in size, rank or position.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “coequal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin aequalis, Latin coaequalis. 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 / Old Latin aiquos / coequal

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