distributiondistribution

Distribution comes from Old French distribution, from Latin distribūtiō ‘division’, from distribuō ‘to distribute’, from dis- + tribuō ‘to assign’, from tribus.

1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtribus¹‘tribe; division of the Roman people’
2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtribuō¹‘to grant, assign’
3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistribuō¹‘to divide, distribute’
4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistribūtiō¹‘division, distribution’
5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400distribution¹
6. Englishearliest quotation 1553distribution¹

1. ¹ Wiktionary, English distribution
2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1553, Thomas Wilson, Diſtribucion: “It is alſo called a diſtribucion, when we diuide…”.