Etymograph

English

factor

Factor comes from Middle English factour, from Anglo-Norman factour and Latin factor ‘doer, maker’, from faciō ‘to do, make’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjō1‘to make’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciō1‘to do, make’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfactor1‘doer, maker’perfect passive participle of faciō
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400factour1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500factour1
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1589–1590factor1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English factor
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1589–1590, Christopher Marlowe, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […]: “My factor sends me word, a merchant's fled /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁k-Wiktionary, English factorreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰh₁kyétiWiktionary, English factorreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fakjōWiktionary, English factor‘to make’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfaciōWiktionary, English factor‘to do, make’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfactorWiktionary, English factor‘doer, maker’perfect passive participle of faciō
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400factourWiktionary, English factor
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500factourWiktionary, English factor
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1589–1590factorWiktionary, English factor. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1589–1590, Christopher Marlowe, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […]: “My factor sends me word, a merchant's fled /…”

Word family

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

through Proto-Italic *θakjō

  • effectively ← effective ← effectif ← effectīvus ← efficiō
  • effectiveness ← effective ← effectif ← effectīvus ← efficiō
  • ineffective ← effective ← effectif ← effectīvus ← efficiō
  • affectionate ← affectiōnātus ← affectiō ← afficiō ← faciō
  • imperfection ← imperfeccion ← imperfectiōnem ← perfectiō ← perficiō

through Proto-Italic *fakjō ‘to make’

  • effective ← effectif ← effectīvus ← efficiō ← faciō
  • difficulty ← difficulte ← difficulte ← difficultas ← difficilis
  • perfection ← perfeccioun ← perfectiō ← perficiō ← faciō
  • interface ← face ← face ← face ← facia
  • affection ← affectiōnem ← affectiō ← afficiō ← faciō
  • imperfect ← imperfit ← imparfit ← imperfectus ← perfectus
  • affective ← affectivus ← affectus ← afficiō ← faciō

260 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A doer, maker; a person who does things for another person or organization.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “factor”. 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- / factor