Etymograph

English

expert

Expert comes from Old French expert ‘experienced’, from Latin expertus, from experior ‘to try’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to provide, produce’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-1‘to provide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*parjō1‘to bear’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpariō1‘to bear’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexperior2‘to try’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpertus2‘experienced’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400expert2‘experienced’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expert2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1896expert2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin experior
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English expert
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1896, California. State Dept, Biennial Report: “Estimated cost of editorial work on Advanced History […]…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-Wiktionary, Latin experior‘to provide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*parjōWiktionary, Latin experior‘to bear’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpariōWiktionary, Latin experior‘to bear’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexperiorWiktionary, English expert‘to try’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexpertusWiktionary, English expert‘experienced’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400expertWiktionary, English expert‘experienced’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500expertWiktionary, English expert
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1896expertWiktionary, English expert. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1896, California. State Dept, Biennial Report: “Estimated cost of editorial work on Advanced History […]…”

Word family

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

through Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to provide, produce, beget’

  • part ← parten ← partir ← partīre ← pars
  • empire ← imperium ← imperō ← parō ← *pr̥h₃-o-
  • repair ← repairen ← reparer ← reparō ← parō
  • preparation ← preparacion ← preparacion ← praeparatio ← praeparatus
  • para ← pàra//па̀ра ← پاره ← پاره ← *pāraka
  • imperial ← imperiālis ← imperium ← imperō ← parō
  • parental ← parentālis ← parens ← *par-(e)nt- ← *pérh₃-t ~ *pr̥h₃-ént
  • parcel ← parcelle ← particella ← particula ← pars
  • pare ← paren ← parer ← parō ← *pr̥h₃-o-
  • imperious ← imperiōsus ← imperium ← imperō ← parō
  • imperium ← imperō ← parō ← *pr̥h₃-o-

through Latin pariō ‘to bear, to give birth to’

  • parent ← parentem ← parēns

59 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *perh₃- →

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

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

Today it means

adj Extraordinary capable or knowledgeable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “expert”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin experior. 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 *perh₃- / expert