English
concern
Concern comes from Middle French concerner, from Medieval Latin concernō ‘to distinguish, have respect to’, from Latin concernō ‘to sift together’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcernō1‘to mix or sift together’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500concernō1‘to distinguish, have respect to’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600concerner1
- Englishearliest quotation 1611concern1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English concern
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconcernōWiktionary, English concern‘to mix or sift together’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500concernōWiktionary, English concern‘to distinguish, have respect to’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600concernerWiktionary, English concern
- Englishearliest quotation 1611concernWiktionary, English concern. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things…”
A compound of concernō ‘to mix, sift, or mingle together, as in a sieve’ + cernō ‘distinguish’
Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’
Proto-Italic *krinō ‘to sift, separate’
Latin cernō ‘see, discern’
Latin concernō ‘to mix, sift, or mingle together, as in a sieve’
Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sieve’
Proto-Italic *krinō ‘to sift, separate’
Latin cernō ‘distinguish’
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Today it means
noun That which affects one’s welfare or happiness. A matter of interest to someone.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “concern”. 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 concernō / concern