Etymograph

English

constant

Constant comes from Old French constant, from Latin cōnstāns ‘standing firm’, from cōnstō ‘to stand firm’, from Proto-Italic *komstaēō.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*komstaēō1‘to stand together’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstō2as cōnstāre‘to stand firm’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstāns2‘standing firm, constant’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400constant2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500constant2
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1580constant2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin consto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English constant
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1580, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., [The Second Booke] Chapter 3: “Both loving one fair maid, they yet remained constant…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*komstaēōWiktionary, Latin consto‘to stand together’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstōWiktionary, English constantas cōnstāre‘to stand firm’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnstānsWiktionary, English constant‘standing firm, constant’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400constantWiktionary, English constant
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500constantWiktionary, English constant
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1580constantWiktionary, English constant. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1580, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., [The Second Booke] Chapter 3: “Both loving one fair maid, they yet remained constant…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with constant, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin cōnstō ‘to stand firm’

  • cost ← costen ← coster ← cōstō

5 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *komstaēō →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

adj Unchanged through time or space; permanent.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “constant”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin consto. 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-Italic *komstaēō / constant