Etymograph

English

copist

Copist comes from French copiste ‘copyist, transcriber’, from copier ‘to copy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-1‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opis1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEops1
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōps1‘abounding in, rich, copious’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōpia1‘supply, abundance, copiousness, wealth, riches’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500copiō2as copiāre‘to copy’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcopier3‘to copy’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcopiste4‘copyist, transcriber’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1710copist4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin copio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French copier
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French copiste
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English copist
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1710, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Soliloquy: or: “[…] whether the Writer be Poet, Philosopher, or of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-Wiktionary, Latin copio‘to work, toil, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opisWiktionary, Latin copioreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEopsWiktionary, Latin copio
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōpsWiktionary, Latin copio‘abounding in, rich, copious’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōpiaWiktionary, Latin copio‘supply, abundance, copiousness, wealth, riches’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500copiōWiktionary, French copieras copiāre‘to copy’
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcopierWiktionary, French copiste‘to copy’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcopisteWiktionary, English copist‘copyist, transcriber’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1710copistWiktionary, English copist. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1710, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Soliloquy: or: “[…] whether the Writer be Poet, Philosopher, or of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’

bus, operation, operate, operator, opera, omnibus, opus, oeuvre, omnivore, 21 more

through Proto-Italic *opis

officer, 8 more

through Latin ops

office, official, optimum, opulent, officiate, opulence, officiant, officious, 9 more

through Latin cōpia ‘supply, abundance, copiousness, wealth, riches’

copious, 1 more

through Medieval Latin copiō ‘to copy’

copy

Today it means

noun A copier; one who copies.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “copist”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin copio, French copier, French copiste. 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 *h₃ep- / copist

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