Etymograph

English

existence

Existence comes from Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia, from Latin exsistō ‘to come forth, exist’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-1‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stísteh₂ti1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsistō1‘to set, place’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsistō1‘to come forth; to exist’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsistēns1‘existing’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexistentia1‘existence’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400existence1
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500existence1
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1834existence1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English existence
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “Fortunate it is for the tranquillity of the new-born…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*steh₂-Wiktionary, English existence‘to stand’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stísteh₂tiWiktionary, English existencereconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsistōWiktionary, English existence‘to set, place’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsistōWiktionary, English existence‘to come forth; to exist’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexsistēnsWiktionary, English existence‘existing’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEexistentiaWiktionary, English existence‘existence’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400existenceWiktionary, English existence
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500existenceWiktionary, English existence
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1834existenceWiktionary, English existence. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, London: Richard Bentley: “Fortunate it is for the tranquillity of the new-born…”

A compound of ex ‘out’ + sistere ‘to set, place’

Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs ‘out’

Proto-Italic *eks

Late Latin ex ‘out’

Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘stand’

Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti ‘to be standing up, to be getting up’

Proto-Italic *sistō ‘to stand’

Late Latin sistō ‘to set, place’

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Today it means

noun The state of being, existing, or occurring; beinghood.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “existence”. 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 *steh₂- / existence