equivalentequivalent

Equivalent comes from Latin aequivalēns, the participle of aequivaleō ‘to have equal power’, from aequus ‘equal’ + valeō ‘to be strong’.

1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-¹reconstructed
2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂wl̥h₁éh₁yeti¹reconstructed
3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*walēō¹‘to be strong’reconstructed
4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvaleō²‘to have strength’
5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequivaleō²‘to be equivalent’
6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaequivalēns²‘equivalent’
7. Englishearliest quotation 1692–1717equivalent²

1. ¹ Wiktionary, Latin valeo
2. ² Wiktionary, English equivalent
3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions: “For now to serve and to minister, servile and…”.