Etymograph

English

commissionaire

Commissionaire comes from Latin commissio ‘commission’, from committō ‘to bring together’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *méyth₂eti.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méyth₂eti1uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meitō1‘to put forth, put out’uncertain
  3. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEmītō1uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō1‘to send’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommittō2‘to bring together’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommissio3‘commission’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcommissionaire3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2004commissionaire3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin committo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin commissio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English commissionaire
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, Alan Hollinghurst, London: Picador: “When the day came Nick turned up early at…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méyth₂etiWiktionary, Latin committouncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meitōWiktionary, Latin committo‘to put forth, put out’uncertain
  3. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEmītōWiktionary, Latin committouncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittōWiktionary, Latin committo‘to send’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommittōWiktionary, Latin commissio‘to bring together’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommissioWiktionary, English commissionaire‘commission’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcommissionaireWiktionary, English commissionaire
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2004commissionaireWiktionary, English commissionaire. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, Alan Hollinghurst, London: Picador: “When the day came Nick turned up early at…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *meitō ‘to put forth, put out’

remission, unremitting, 20 more

through Old Latin mītō

permission, transmission, admission, submission, emission, remit, omission, 22 more

through Latin mittō ‘to send’

admit, mess, mission, missile, transmit, dismiss, premise, intermittent, emit, amit, omit, permissive, remiss, missive, 35 more

through Latin committō ‘to bring together’

committee, 9 more

through Latin commissio ‘commission’

commissariat, 3 more

Today it means

noun One entrusted with a (small) commission, such as an errand; especially, an attendant or subordinate employee in a public office, hotel, etc.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “commissionaire”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin committo, Latin commissio. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *méyth₂eti / commissionaire

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