Etymograph

English

comparison

Comparison comes from Old French comparison, from Latin comparātiō, from comparō ‘to compare’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomparō1‘to compare’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomparātiō1‘comparison’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400comparison1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comparisoun1‘the act of giving a thing similar or identical value to another’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611comparison1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English comparison
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Whereto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomparōWiktionary, English comparison‘to compare’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomparātiōWiktionary, English comparison‘comparison’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400comparisonWiktionary, English comparison
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comparisounWiktionary, English comparison‘the act of giving a thing similar or identical value to another’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611comparisonWiktionary, English comparison. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Whereto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or…”

Every English word from Latin comparō

Today it means

noun The act of comparing or the state or process of being compared.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “comparison”. 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 comparō / comparison

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