Etymograph

English

determine

Determine comes from Old French determiner, from Latin dēterminō ‘to set bounds to’, from dē- + terminō ‘to limit’, from terminus ‘boundary’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*térmn̥1‘boundary’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*term(e)nos1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminus1‘boundary, limit, end’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminō1‘to set bounds to, limit’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēterminō1‘to delimit, set bounds to’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400determiner1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500determinen1
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599determine1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English determine
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “Novv, vvhere is hee, that vvill not ſtay ſo…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*térmn̥Wiktionary, English determine‘boundary’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*term(e)nosWiktionary, English determinereconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminusWiktionary, English determine‘boundary, limit, end’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminōWiktionary, English determine‘to set bounds to, limit’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēterminōWiktionary, English determine‘to delimit, set bounds to’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400determinerWiktionary, English determine
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500determinenWiktionary, English determine
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599determineWiktionary, English determine. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “Novv, vvhere is hee, that vvill not ſtay ſo…”

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Today it means

verb To set the boundaries or limits of.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “determine”. 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 *térmn̥ / determine