Etymograph

English

effect

Effect comes from Latin effectus ‘an effect, tendency, purpose’, from faciō ‘to do’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjō1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjō1‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciō1‘to do’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEefficiō1‘accomplish’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeffectus1‘an effect’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400effect1
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500effect1
  10. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606effect1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English effect
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “All the large effects / That troop with majesty.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-Wiktionary, English effectreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyétiWiktionary, English effectreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θakjōWiktionary, English effectreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjōWiktionary, English effect‘to make’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciōWiktionary, English effect‘to do’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEefficiōWiktionary, English effect‘accomplish’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEeffectusWiktionary, English effect‘an effect’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400effectWiktionary, English effect
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500effectWiktionary, English effect
  10. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1606effectWiktionary, English effect. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear: “All the large effects / That troop with majesty.”

The story

Of the noun: from Middle English effect, from Old French effect (modern French effet), from Latin effectus (‘an effect, tendency, purpose’), from efficiō (‘accomplish, complete, effect’); see effect as a verb. Of the verb: from Middle English effecten, partly from Medieval Latin effectuō, from Latin effectus, perfect passive participle of efficiō (‘accomplish, complete, do, effect’), from ex (‘out’) + faciō (‘do, make’) (see fact and compare affect, infect) and partly from the noun effect.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

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

through Proto-Italic *θakjō

  • affectionate ← affectiōnātus ← affectiō ← afficiō ← faciō
  • imperfection ← imperfeccion ← imperfectiōnem ← perfectiō ← perficiō
  • putrefaction ← putrefaccioun ← putrefaccïon ← putrefactiō ← putrefactus

through Proto-Italic *fakjō ‘to make’

  • factor ← factour ← factour ← faciō
  • difficulty ← difficulte ← difficulte ← difficultas ← difficilis
  • interface ← face ← face ← face ← facia
  • manufacture ← manufactura ← manūfactūra ← manūfactus ← manus
  • faction ← factiō ← faciō
  • perfection ← perfeccioun ← perfectiō ← perficiō ← faciō
  • affection ← affectiōnem ← affectiō ← afficiō ← faciō
  • facet ← facette ← face ← face ← face
  • imperfect ← imperfit ← imparfit ← imperfectus ← perfectus

282 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *dʰeh₁k- →

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

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

Today it means

noun The result or outcome of a cause.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “effect”. 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 *dʰeh₁k- / effect